hiato

[ˈjat̪o]

/[ˈjat̪o]/ noun

The verdict

“hiato” is uncommon Spanish (frequency #60,078 among 1,569 “H” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#60,078
frequency rank, Spanish
1,569
“H” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Pronunciación en diferentes sílabas de dos vocales seguidas dentro de una misma palabra.

Corpus desk

Index ES-hiato · hiato · Spanish

hiato · rank #60,078 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #60,078
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 1,569
  • PHOTO-FINISH hooker

Nearest frequency peer: hooker (+2 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 “hiato”

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 “hiato” se sitúa frente a rangos españoles igualmente raros.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for hiato
PropertyValue
Headwordhiato
LanguageSpanish
Part of speechNoun
IPA[ˈjat̪o]
Letters5
Frequency rank#60,078
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Cola larga: rango de “hiato” en español

De izquierda a derecha: las pocas palabras que cargan el habla diaria, luego la cola larga casi invisible.hiatocae 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: “hooker” (#60,080), “Hurlingham” (#60,081), “Harbin” (#60,073). Entre 1,569 lemas con “H”, “hiato” va en #60,078. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

hiato is uncommon Spanish at frequency #60,078 among 1,569 “H” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed [ˈjat̪o]. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 7 senses are on record.

No generated misspelling entries exist for hiato in our index, a sign its spelling follows regular Spanish conventions. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, suggesting its spelling stands apart enough that readers rarely confuse it with something else.

This entry carries no recorded etymology, so its spelling pattern is best understood through pronunciation rather than a traceable origin. The correct Spanish form is hiato, spelled H-I-A-T-O.

Definition

  1. 1
    Pronunciación en diferentes sílabas de dos vocales seguidas dentro de una misma palabra.
  2. 2
    La demora natural que en español ocurre entre dos vocales fuertes (a, e, o).
  3. 3
    Artificio para ajustarse a la métrica, que consiste en dividir en dos sílabas una sinalefa.
  4. 4
    Separación temporal o espacial.
  5. 5
    Grieta.
  6. 6
    Fisura.
  7. 7
    Abertura del diafragma por donde pasa el esófago para conectarse con el estómago en el epigastrio.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how hiato appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. «Algunos ejemplos de hiatos en español son: “cacareo”, “aéreo”, “aorta”, etc. Y, entre diptongos, tenemos: “agua”, “áureo”, “decoración”. De ambas clasificaciones lingüísticas, los diptongos son los que más abundan en español».
  2. «No se acueste inmediatamente después de comer porque favorece el reflujo gastroesofágico, sobre todo si la válvula cardia es incontinente o existe hernia de hiato. Y esto traerá diversos síntomas […]».

Synonyms

This word in other languages

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 "hiato"?
"hiato" is spelled H-I-A-T-O. The IPA pronunciation is [ˈjat̪o].
What does "hiato" mean?
As a noun, "hiato" means: Pronunciación en diferentes sílabas de dos vocales seguidas dentro de una misma palabra.
How do you pronounce "hiato"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "hiato" is [ˈjat̪o]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "hiato" come from?
"hiato" 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.

Similar Spanish words by spelling shape

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

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked Spanish headwords with 5 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list