materia gris

[maˈt̪eɾja ˈɣ̞ɾis]

/[maˈt̪eɾja ˈɣ̞ɾis]/ phrase

The verdict

“materia gris” is outside the top-ranked Spanish vocabulary, used as a phrase - the kind of word writers most often double-check.

Unranked
below top-frequency Spanish
12
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Estructura formada por los cuerpos de las neuronas que constituyen el centro de la médula espinal y la parte externa del cerebro, relacionada con las percepciones, memoria, lenguaje, emociones y co...

Key facts for materia gris
PropertyValue
Headwordmateria gris
LanguageSpanish
Part of speechPhrase
IPA[maˈt̪eɾja ˈɣ̞ɾis]
Letters12
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “materia gris” sits in Spanish frequency

materia gris 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.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The Spanish entry for materia gris is 12 letters long, classified as a phrase, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as [maˈt̪eɾja ˈɣ̞ɾis]. It sits outside the most-frequent rank tiers, which is often why uncommon words generate more spelling variants per reader. Wiktionary records 2 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

No misspelling variants are generated for materia gris in our index, suggesting the orthography follows predictable Spanish patterns. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.

No explicit etymology string is stored for this entry, so spelling patterns must be inferred from the word's phoneme-to-grapheme mapping rather than from a documented borrowing chain. For readers arriving here from a spelling check, the authoritative guidance is: the correct Spanish form is materia gris, spelled M-A-T-E-R-I-A- -G-R-I-S, and any other sequence of those letters, regardless of how natural it feels, is a misspelling in standard orthography.

Definition

  1. 1
    Estructura formada por los cuerpos de las neuronas que constituyen el centro de la médula espinal y la parte externa del cerebro, relacionada con las percepciones, memoria, lenguaje, emociones y control muscular. En el cerebro rodea a la sustancia blanca, y en la médula espinal, inversamente, es esta la que cubre a la sustancia gris.
  2. 2
    Inteligencia o capacidad de pensar y razonar.

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.

Cite this page

Free to reuse with attribution (CC BY-SA). Copy the citation:

PlainSpell, “materia gris, Spanish word data” (May 6, 2026). Derived from Wiktionary (kaikki.org, CC BY-SA) and an open word-frequency list. https://plainspell.com/es/palabra/materia-gris

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "materia gris"?
"materia gris" is spelled M-A-T-E-R-I-A- -G-R-I-S. The IPA pronunciation is [maˈt̪eɾja ˈɣ̞ɾis].
What does "materia gris" mean?
As a phrase, "materia gris" means: Estructura formada por los cuerpos de las neuronas que constituyen el centro de la médula espinal y la parte externa del cerebro, relacionada con las percepciones, memoria, lenguaje, emociones y co...
How do you pronounce "materia gris"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "materia gris" is [maˈt̪eɾja ˈɣ̞ɾis]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "materia gris" come from?
"materia gris" 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 “materia gris”

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

  • The one correct Spanish spelling is M-A-T-E-R-I-A- -G-R-I-S - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as [maˈt̪eɾja ˈɣ̞ɾis] (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

Nearby Spanish words

Other entries that begin with the letter M in our Spanish index:

Explore PlainSpell

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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list