nightmare

/ˈnaɪt.mɛɹ/

//ˈnaɪt.mɛɹ// noun

The verdict

“nightmare” is uncommon Spanish (frequency #69,632 among 7,828 “N” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#69,632
frequency rank, Spanish
7,828
“N” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Pesadilla.

Key facts for nightmare
PropertyValue
Headwordnightmare
LanguageSpanish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈnaɪt.mɛɹ/
Letters9
Frequency rank#69,632
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “nightmare” 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). nightmare 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

nightmare is uncommon Spanish at frequency #69,632 among 7,828 “N” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈnaɪt.mɛɹ/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for nightmare, suggesting the orthography follows predictable Spanish patterns. No close-neighbour confusable shows up for this headword in our dataset, suggesting its spelling stands apart enough that readers rarely confuse it with something else.

This entry's etymology isn't recorded, so spelling patterns must be inferred from the word's phoneme-to-grapheme mapping rather than from a documented borrowing chain. The correct Spanish form is nightmare, spelled N-I-G-H-T-M-A-R-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    Pesadilla.
  2. 2
    Problema.

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 "nightmare"?
"nightmare" is spelled N-I-G-H-T-M-A-R-E. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈnaɪt.mɛɹ/.
What does "nightmare" mean?
As a noun, "nightmare" means: Pesadilla.
How do you pronounce "nightmare"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "nightmare" is /ˈnaɪt.mɛɹ/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "nightmare" come from?
"nightmare" 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.

Using “nightmare”

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

  • The one correct Spanish spelling is N-I-G-H-T-M-A-R-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as /ˈnaɪt.mɛɹ/ (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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list