palillo

[paˈliʝo]

/[paˈliʝo]/ noun

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

The verdict

“palillo” is a moderately-common Spanish word, ranked #45,487 in Spanish word frequency and used as a noun.

#45,487
frequency rank, Spanish
7
letters
8
tracked misspellings
10
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Instrumento de madera, afilado por al menos uno de sus extremos, que es usado para eliminar restos de comida de entre los dientes.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

palillo vs pillo
71% similar
palillo vs palito
71% similar
palillo vs pasillo
86% similar

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

Key facts for palillo
PropertyValue
Headwordpalillo
LanguageSpanish
Part of speechNoun
IPA[paˈliʝo]
Letters7
Frequency rank#45,487
Misspellings tracked8
Confusable pairs10
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “palillo” 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). palillo lands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The Spanish entry for palillo is 7 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as [paˈliʝo]. Corpus data places it at rank #45,487 in overall Spanish word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 8 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our generated misspelling index lists 8 likely wrong-spelling variants for palillo, with forms such as "aplillo", "pailllo", and "palilo". 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 10 confusable-pair relationships, "pillo", "palito", "pasillo", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

This entry carries no recorded etymology, leaving phoneme-to-grapheme mapping as the best guide to its spelling rather than a borrowing history. The correct Spanish form is palillo, spelled P-A-L-I-L-L-O.

Definition

  1. 1
    Instrumento de madera, afilado por al menos uno de sus extremos, que es usado para eliminar restos de comida de entre los dientes.
  2. 2
    Utensilio oriental de madera que, usado en par, se usa como cubierto.
  3. 3
    Diminutivo de palo.
  4. 4
    Instrumento de madera alargado que se usa para tocar instrumentos de percusión, como el tambor.
  5. 5
    Instrumento que se usa en pares para tejer.
  6. 6
    Persona muy delgada.
  7. 7
    Vena gruesa de las hojas del tabaco que puede quedar en el cigarro o cigarrillo.
  8. 8
    Castañuela.

Synonyms

escarbadientesmondadientesbaquetaaguja de tejer

This word in other languages

toothpick(English)cure-dent(Français)Zahnstocher(Deutsch)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: aplillo,pailllo,palilo,palilol,pallillo,pallilo,plaillo,ppalillo

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

aplillo2pailllo2palilo1palilol2pallillo1pallilo2plaillo2ppalillo1
Edit distance from "palillo"

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 "palillo"?
"palillo" is spelled P-A-L-I-L-L-O. The IPA pronunciation is [paˈliʝo].
What does "palillo" mean?
As a noun, "palillo" means: Instrumento de madera, afilado por al menos uno de sus extremos, que es usado para eliminar restos de comida de entre los dientes.
What words are commonly confused with "palillo"?
"palillo" is commonly confused with "pillo", "palito", "pasillo". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "palillo"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "palillo" is [paˈliʝo]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "palillo" come from?
"palillo" is a Spanish word. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for this and other words across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German on PlainSpell.
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 “palillo”

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

  • The one correct Spanish spelling is P-A-L-I-L-L-O - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as [paˈliʝo] (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Don't mix it up with “pillo” - see the side-by-side comparison. palillo vs pillo
  • 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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list