foul

[ˈfowl]

/[ˈfowl]/ noun

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

The verdict

“foul” is uncommon Spanish (frequency #63,092 among 18,759 “F” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#63,092
frequency rank, Spanish
18,759
“F” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - En el fútbol, infracción cometida por un jugador contra un rival, adrede o no, especialmente cuando el balón está en disputa.

Key facts for foul
PropertyValue
Headwordfoul
LanguageSpanish
Part of speechNoun
IPA[ˈfowl]
Letters4
Frequency rank#63,092
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “foul” sits in Spanish frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). foul lands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

foul is uncommon Spanish at frequency #63,092 among 18,759 “F” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed [ˈfowl]. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "En el fútbol, infracción cometida por un jugador contra un rival, adrede o no, especialmente cuando el balón está en disputa.".

foul has no tracked misspelling variants, and the word's spelling is regular enough that our generator found nothing worth flagging. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, since its spelling is unusual enough that it doesn't cluster with a lookalike.

Our source data has no etymology on file for this entry, so any spelling logic here comes from how the word's sounds map to letters, not a documented origin story. The correct Spanish form is foul, spelled F-O-U-L.

Definition

  1. 1
    En el fútbol, infracción cometida por un jugador contra un rival, adrede o no, especialmente cuando el balón está en disputa.

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 "foul"?
"foul" is spelled F-O-U-L. The IPA pronunciation is [ˈfowl].
What does "foul" mean?
As a noun, "foul" means: En el fútbol, infracción cometida por un jugador contra un rival, adrede o no, especialmente cuando el balón está en disputa.
How do you pronounce "foul"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "foul" is [ˈfowl]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "foul" come from?
"foul" is a Spanish word. PlainSpell covers definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German.
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 “foul”

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

  • The one correct Spanish spelling is F-O-U-L - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as [ˈfowl] (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

Other uncommon Spanish words near this rank

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