gentil
[xẽn̪ˈt̪il]
The verdict
“gentil” is a moderately-common Spanish word, ranked #16,346 in Spanish word frequency and used as an adjective.
- #16,346
- frequency rank, Spanish
- 6
- letters
- 9
- tracked misspellings
- 8
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Propio de, relativo o perteneciente a un grupo de gentes distinto del del hablante.
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | gentil |
| Language | Spanish |
| Part of speech | Adjective |
| IPA | [xẽn̪ˈt̪il] |
| Letters | 6 |
| Frequency rank | #16,346 |
| Misspellings tracked | 9 |
| Confusable pairs | 8 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “gentil” sits in Spanish frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The Spanish entry for gentil is 6 letters long, classified as an adjective, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as [xẽn̪ˈt̪il]. Corpus data places it at rank #16,346 in overall Spanish word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 9 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 9 likely wrong-spelling variants for gentil, with forms such as "egntil", "genitl", and "genntil". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 8 confusable-pair relationships, "gentío", "gentiles", "gente", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.
Wiktionary doesn't record an etymology for this headword, so its spelling is best explained by sound-to-letter mapping rather than etymology. The correct Spanish form is gentil, spelled G-E-N-T-I-L.
Definition
- 1Propio de, relativo o perteneciente a un grupo de gentes distinto del del hablante.
- 2En particular, no judío.
- 3En particular, que profesa una religión no judeocristiana.
- 4En particular, propio de, relativo o perteneciente a los habitantes de la época preincaica.
- 5Propio de, relativo o perteneciente a la nobleza.
- 6Que muestra singular excelencia en alguno de sus rasgos, en especial en sentido moral.
- 7En particular, dicho de una persona, de carácter amable y cortés.
- 8Dicho de una persona, físicamente] atractiva.
- 9Por extensión, que llama la atención por algún rasgo excepcional.
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: egntil,genitl,genntil,gentill,gentli,genttil,getnil,ggentil,gnetil
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of gentil - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.
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 "gentil"?
What does "gentil" mean?
What words are commonly confused with "gentil"?
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Is PlainSpell free to use?
Using “gentil”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct Spanish spelling is G-E-N-T-I-L - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as [xẽn̪ˈt̪il] (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “gentío” - see the side-by-side comparison. gentil vs gentío
- 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.