chinela

[t͡ʃiˈnela]

/[t͡ʃiˈnela]/ noun

The verdict

“chinela” is uncommon Spanish (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency Spanish
7
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Calzado a modo de zapato, sencillo, sin talón y de suela ligera, que por lo común solo se usa dentro de la casa, o como calzado informal.

Key facts for chinela
PropertyValue
Headwordchinela
LanguageSpanish
Part of speechNoun
IPA[t͡ʃiˈnela]
Letters7
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “chinela” sits in Spanish frequency

chinela falls outside the top-100,000 ranked Spanish words, the long-tail zone of technical, archaic, or low-frequency vocabulary, exactly where readers second-guess spellings most.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

chinela is uncommon Spanish outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun, transcribed [t͡ʃiˈnela]. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

The misspelling generator found no plausible variants for chinela, which points to an orthography that plays by predictable Spanish rules. This entry stands alone in our confusable dataset, since nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.

No explicit etymology string is stored for this entry, leaving phoneme-to-grapheme mapping as the best guide to its spelling rather than a borrowing history. The correct Spanish form is chinela, spelled C-H-I-N-E-L-A.

Definition

  1. 1
    Calzado a modo de zapato, sencillo, sin talón y de suela ligera, que por lo común solo se usa dentro de la casa, o como calzado informal.
  2. 2
    Especie de chapín de que usaban las mujeres sobre el calzado en tiempo de lodos.

Synonyms

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "chinela"?
"chinela" is spelled C-H-I-N-E-L-A. The IPA pronunciation is [t͡ʃiˈnela].
What does "chinela" mean?
As a noun, "chinela" means: Calzado a modo de zapato, sencillo, sin talón y de suela ligera, que por lo común solo se usa dentro de la casa, o como calzado informal.
How do you pronounce "chinela"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "chinela" is [t͡ʃiˈnela]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "chinela" come from?
"chinela" is a Spanish word. PlainSpell's reference spans five languages -- English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German -- with definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for each.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Using “chinela”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct Spanish spelling is C-H-I-N-E-L-A - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as [t͡ʃiˈnela] (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Browse more Spanish words and confusable pairs in the same reference. Spanish words
Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list