cobaya

[koˈβ̞aʝa]

/[koˈβ̞aʝa]/ noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

The verdict

“cobaya” is uncommon Spanish (frequency #92,820 among 8,288 “C” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#92,820
frequency rank, Spanish
8,288
“C” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Mamífero roedor sudamericano, estrictamente herbívoro. Pesa alrededor de un kilo, vive en áreas abiertas y utiliza hoyos y madrigueras para ocultarse y protegerse; tienen una longevidad de cuatro a...

Corpus desk

Index ES-cobaya · cobaya · Spanish

cobaya · rank #92,820 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #92,820
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 8,288
  • PHOTO-FINISH cocientes

Nearest frequency peer: cocientes (+1 rank slots)

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rangos de cola larga cerca de “cobaya”

Banda escasa: las barras invierten el rango para que lo raro se lea más corto

corpus weight

What this shows Vista de cola larga: dónde “cobaya” se sitúa frente a rangos españoles igualmente raros.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for cobaya
PropertyValue
Headwordcobaya
LanguageSpanish
Part of speechNoun
IPA[koˈβ̞aʝa]
Letters6
Frequency rank#92,820
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Cola larga: rango de “cobaya” en español

Esta escala corre desde el núcleo del español cotidiano (izquierda) hasta el rastro de formas rara vez usadas (derecha).cobayacae en esta cola de rareza:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

El eje es logarítmico: cada tick marca unas diez veces menos frecuencia. Vecinos raros de la misma franja: “cocientes” (#92,821), “clau” (#92,818), “codificadores” (#92,822). Entre 8,288 lemas con “C”, “cobaya” va en #92,820. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

cobaya is uncommon Spanish at frequency #92,820 among 8,288 “C” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed [koˈβ̞aʝa]. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

No generated misspelling entries exist for cobaya in our index, since its letter pattern doesn't lend itself to common typo substitutions. We don't track a confusable pairing for this entry, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.

This entry's etymology isn't recorded, leaving phoneme-to-grapheme mapping as the best guide to its spelling rather than a borrowing history. The correct Spanish form is cobaya, spelled C-O-B-A-Y-A.

Definition

  1. 1
    Mamífero roedor sudamericano, estrictamente herbívoro. Pesa alrededor de un kilo, vive en áreas abiertas y utiliza hoyos y madrigueras para ocultarse y protegerse; tienen una longevidad de cuatro a seis o también de diez años. Los incas domesticaron y criaron estos roedores para aprovechar su carne y su piel. En la actualidad se les cría para usarlos en experimentos científicos y cada vez más, para tenerlos como mascotas.
  2. 2
    Persona utilizada para probar tratamientos, productos químicos o farmacéuticos y observar el resultado o efecto de tales experimentaciones.

Synonyms

conejillo de Indiascobayocuícuyecuycuyocuyé

This word in other languages

guinea pig(English)cochon d'Inde(Français)Meerschweinchen(Deutsch)

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 Spanish corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "cobaya"?
"cobaya" is spelled C-O-B-A-Y-A. The IPA pronunciation is [koˈβ̞aʝa].
What does "cobaya" mean?
As a noun, "cobaya" means: Mamífero roedor sudamericano, estrictamente herbívoro. Pesa alrededor de un kilo, vive en áreas abiertas y utiliza hoyos y madrigueras para ocultarse y protegerse; tienen una longevidad de cuatro a...
How do you pronounce "cobaya"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "cobaya" is [koˈβ̞aʝa]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "cobaya" come from?
"cobaya" is a Spanish word. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for this and other words across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German on PlainSpell.
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.

Similar Spanish words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "cobaya", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked Spanish headwords with 6 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

claims#92,815chusco#92,805cazada#92,791cantus#92,775

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list