nopal

[noˈpal]

/[noˈpal]/ noun

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

The verdict

“nopal” has 7 generated spelling variants in the Spanish index at frequency #40,420. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#40,420
frequency rank, Spanish
1,151
“N” headwords
7
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - (Opuntia spp.) Cualquiera de unas 250 especies de cactus naturales del continente americano, con una estructura caulinar formada por segmentos redondos y planos (cladodios), cubiertos de dos clases...

Corpus desk

Index ES-nopal · nopal · Spanish

nopal · rank #40,420 · 7 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #40,420
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 7 variants
  • BOOK-MID 1,151
  • PHOTO-FINISH nublados

Nearest frequency peer: nublados (+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 “nopal”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “nopal” 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).

nopal vs nota
60% similar
nopal vs nova
60% similar
nopal vs nope
60% similar

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

Key facts for nopal
PropertyValue
Headwordnopal
LanguageSpanish
Part of speechNoun
IPA[noˈpal]
Letters5
Frequency rank#40,420
Misspellings tracked7
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frecuencia del imán ortográfico “nopal”

La frecuencia va del puñado de palabras que usamos sin parar (izquierda) a la cola larga que apenas aparece (derecha).nopalcae aquí:

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

Los ticks avanzan en logaritmo; cada uno es del orden de diez veces más raro. En la misma franja de rareza aparecen “nublados” (#40,421), “nudillos” (#40,422), “nutrida” (#40,424). Entre 1,151 lemas con “N”, “nopal” va en #40,420. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 7 spelling variants around nopal (IPA [noˈpal]), anoun. Corpus frequency is #40,420 among 1,151 “N” headwords. Wiktionary lists 2 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 7 likely wrong-spelling variants for nopal, with forms such as "nnopal", "noapl", and "nopall". 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 20 confusable-pair relationships, "nota", "nova", "nope", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

No documented word history exists for this headword, so its spelling is best read as a straightforward mapping from sound to letter. The correct Spanish form is nopal, spelled N-O-P-A-L.

Definition

  1. 1
    (Opuntia spp.) Cualquiera de unas 250 especies de cactus naturales del continente americano, con una estructura caulinar formada por segmentos redondos y planos (cladodios), cubiertos de dos clases de espinas, que forman estructuras densas y enmarañadas. Se encuentran entre los más resistentes al frío de los cactos, distribuyéndose desde el Canadá hasta Argentina. Su fruto y los brotes tiernos, pelados de la cubierta espinosa, se consumen como fruta y verdura respectivamente.
  2. 2
    Penca del nopal₁, una paleta de pulpa comestible que se desprende de la planta, con la piel verde cubierta de espinas.

Synonyms

tuna

This word in other languages

nopal(English)figuier de Barbarie(Français)Feigenkaktus(Deutsch)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • nnopal
  • noapl
  • nopall
  • nopla
  • noppal
  • npoal
  • onpal

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

nnopal1noapl2nopall1nopla2noppal1npoal2onpal2
Edit distance from "nopal"

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 "nopal"?
"nopal" is spelled N-O-P-A-L. The IPA pronunciation is [noˈpal].
What does "nopal" mean?
As a noun, "nopal" means: (Opuntia spp.) Cualquiera de unas 250 especies de cactus naturales del continente americano, con una estructura caulinar formada por segmentos redondos y planos (cladodios), cubiertos de dos clases...
What words are commonly confused with "nopal"?
"nopal" is commonly confused with "nota", "nova", "nope". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "nopal"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "nopal" is [noˈpal]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "nopal" come from?
"nopal" 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.

Similar Spanish words by spelling shape

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

Same letter count

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

Olaya#40,430magma#40,379piñón#40,465Labia#40,368

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (7 here; floor ≥5).

rapiña7 variantsreñida7 variantsrotor7 variantsrules7 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list