maternal

[mat̪eɾˈnal]

/[mat̪eɾˈnal]/ adj

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

The verdict

“maternal” has 12 generated spelling variants in the Spanish index at frequency #24,226. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#24,226
frequency rank, Spanish
3,868
“M” headwords
12
tracked misspellings
6
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Que pertenece o concierne a la madre.

Corpus desk

Index ES-maternal · maternal · Spanish

maternal · rank #24,226 · 12 variants · 6 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #24,226
  • LEN-LONG 8 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 6 pairs
  • VAR-MID 12 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,868
  • PHOTO-FINISH matador

Nearest frequency peer: matador (-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.

Pares de rango junto al imán ortográfico “maternal”

Misma franja de rareza: útil si un typo cae en un lema vecino

corpus weight

What this shows “maternal” está entre estos pares FrequencyWords; la profundidad de typo se mide aparte en el gráfico de distancia de edición.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

maternal vs materno
75% similar
maternal vs matinal
75% similar
maternal vs matorral
75% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for maternal
PropertyValue
Headwordmaternal
LanguageSpanish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA[mat̪eɾˈnal]
Letters8
Frequency rank#24,226
Misspellings tracked12
Confusable pairs6
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frecuencia del imán ortográfico “maternal”

De izquierda a derecha: las pocas palabras que cargan el habla diaria, luego la cola larga casi invisible.maternalcae aquí:

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

El eje es logarítmico: cada tick marca unas diez veces menos frecuencia. En la misma franja de rareza aparecen “matador” (#24,225), “masculinidad” (#24,224), “mareo” (#24,223). Entre 3,868 lemas con “M”, “maternal” va en #24,226. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 12 spelling variants around maternal (IPA [mat̪eɾˈnal]), anadjective. Corpus frequency is #24,226 among 3,868 “M” headwords. Dominant gloss: "Que pertenece o concierne a la madre.".

Our generated misspelling index lists 12 likely wrong-spelling variants for maternal, with forms such as "amternal", "maetrnal", and "matenral". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 6 confusable-pair relationships, "materno", "matinal", "matorral", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

No borrowing history is documented for this entry, so its spelling is easiest explained by how it's pronounced rather than where it came from. The correct Spanish form is maternal, spelled M-A-T-E-R-N-A-L.

Definition

  1. 1
    Que pertenece o concierne a la madre.

Synonyms

materno

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • amternal
  • maetrnal
  • matenral
  • materanl
  • maternall
  • maternla
  • maternnal
  • materrnal
  • matrenal
  • matternal
  • mmaternal
  • mtaernal

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of maternal - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

amternal2maetrnal2matenral2materanl2maternall1maternla2maternnal1materrnal1
Edit distance from "maternal"

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 "maternal"?
"maternal" is spelled M-A-T-E-R-N-A-L. The IPA pronunciation is [mat̪eɾˈnal].
What does "maternal" mean?
As an adjective, "maternal" means: Que pertenece o concierne a la madre.
What words are commonly confused with "maternal"?
"maternal" is commonly confused with "materno", "matinal", "matorral". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "maternal"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "maternal" is [mat̪eɾˈnal]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "maternal" come from?
"maternal" 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 "maternal", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked Spanish headwords with 8 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

modestia#24,235liguilla#24,216lanzamos#24,208oratoria#24,255

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (12 here; floor ≥5).

neumático12 variantsincierta12 variantsilícitos12 variantshablaría12 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list