palanca
[paˈlãŋka]
The verdict
“palanca” is a moderately-common Spanish word, ranked #13,308 in Spanish word frequency and used as a noun.
- #13,308
- frequency rank, Spanish
- 7
- letters
- 10
- tracked misspellings
- 13
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Máquina simple compuesta por una barra rígida que puede girar libremente alrededor de un punto de apoyo, o fulcro. Puede utilizarse para amplificar la fuerza mecánica que se aplica a un objeto, o p...
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | palanca |
| Language | Spanish |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | [paˈlãŋka] |
| Letters | 7 |
| Frequency rank | #13,308 |
| Misspellings tracked | 10 |
| Confusable pairs | 13 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “palanca” sits in Spanish frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The Spanish entry for palanca is 7 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as [paˈlãŋka]. Corpus data places it at rank #13,308 in overall Spanish word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 9 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 10 likely wrong-spelling variants for palanca, with forms such as "aplanca", "paalnca", and "palacna". 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 13 confusable-pair relationships, "placa", "plana", "planta", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.
No explicit etymology string is stored for this entry, so its spelling pattern is best understood through pronunciation rather than a traceable origin. The correct Spanish form is palanca, spelled P-A-L-A-N-C-A.
Definition
- 1Máquina simple compuesta por una barra rígida que puede girar libremente alrededor de un punto de apoyo, o fulcro. Puede utilizarse para amplificar la fuerza mecánica que se aplica a un objeto, o para incrementar la distancia recorrida por un objeto en respuesta a la aplicación de una fuerza.
- 2Relación o influencia que se puede utilizar para provocar un cambio, obtener un favor, o una concesión.
- 3Persona con poder que favorece a alguien.
- 4Mozo ayudante del matarife o jifero.
- 5Arbusto de los climas calientes, cuya fruta, semejante a la ciruela, no es muy grata al paladar. El aroma de la flor es bastante repugnante.
- 6En albañilería; palo, a madera de porra, que sirve para machacar yeso.
- 7Viga que da movimiento a la báscula de un puente levadizo.
- 8Barra de hierro de unos 40 cm. de largo y 3 de grueso, con espiga perpendicular a ella en uno de sus extremos, para encajarla en el baco o en el mostrador y que pueda hacer así con ventaja el oficio de bigornia.
- 9Muletilla de bastante longitud que se emplea para fincar.
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: aplanca,paalnca,palacna,palanac,palancca,palannca,pallanca,palnaca,plaanca,ppalanca
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of palanca - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.
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 "palanca"?
What does "palanca" mean?
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Is PlainSpell free to use?
Using “palanca”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct Spanish spelling is P-A-L-A-N-C-A - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as [paˈlãŋka] (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “placa” - see the side-by-side comparison. palanca vs placa
- Browse more Spanish words and confusable pairs in the same reference. Spanish words
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.