pena

[ˈpena]

/[ˈpena]/ noun

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

The verdict

“pena” has 5 generated spelling variants in the Spanish index at frequency #616. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#616
frequency rank, Spanish
6,028
“P” headwords
5
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Castigo impuesto por autoridad legítima a quien ha cometido un delito o falta.

Corpus desk

Index ES-pena · pena · Spanish

pena · rank #616 · 5 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-CORE #616
  • LEN-MID 4 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 5 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 6,028
  • PHOTO-FINISH padres

Nearest frequency peer: padres (-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 “pena”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “pena” 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).

pena vs Per
25% similar
pena vs pez
50% similar
pena vs pon
50% similar

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

Key facts for pena
PropertyValue
Headwordpena
LanguageSpanish
Part of speechNoun
IPA[ˈpena]
Letters4
Frequency rank#616
Misspellings tracked5
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frecuencia del imán ortográfico “pena”

Esta escala corre desde el núcleo del español cotidiano (izquierda) hasta el rastro de formas rara vez usadas (derecha).penacae 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 “padres” (#615), “producción” (#617), “siglo” (#618). Entre 6,028 lemas con “P”, “pena” va en #616. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 5 spelling variants around pena (IPA [ˈpena]), anoun. Corpus frequency is #616 among 6,028 “P” headwords. Wiktionary lists 10 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 5 likely wrong-spelling variants for pena, with forms such as "epna", "pean", and "penna". 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, "Per", "pez", "pon", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Our source data has no etymology on file for this entry, so its spelling is easiest to reason about phoneme by phoneme, absent a documented history. The correct Spanish form is pena, spelled P-E-N-A.

Definition

  1. 1
    Castigo impuesto por autoridad legítima a quien ha cometido un delito o falta.
  2. 2
    Cuidado, aflicción o sentimiento interior grande.
  3. 3
    Dolor, tormento o sentimiento corporal.
  4. 4
    Dificultad, trabajo.
  5. 5
    Cinta adornada con una joya en cada punta, que usaban las mujeres anudándola al cuello y dejando los cabos pendientes sobre el pecho.
  6. 6
    Galeras.
  7. 7
    Vergüenza, timidez.
  8. 8
    Sinceridad en lo dicho o en las acciones.
  9. 9
    Introversión, taciturnidad, timidez.
  10. 10
    Leve dolor corporal.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how pena appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. «José Castro se declaró culpable de los asesinatos para optar por la pena mínima».
  2. «Con mucha pena he terminado este negocio».

Synonyms

castigocondenasentenciapenita

This word in other languages

pain(English)peine(Français)Schmerz(Deutsch)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • epna
  • pean
  • penna
  • pnea
  • ppena

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of pena - 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.

epna2pean2penna1pnea2ppena1
Edit distance from "pena"

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 "pena"?
"pena" is spelled P-E-N-A. The IPA pronunciation is [ˈpena].
What does "pena" mean?
As a noun, "pena" means: Castigo impuesto por autoridad legítima a quien ha cometido un delito o falta.
What words are commonly confused with "pena"?
"pena" is commonly confused with "Per", "pez", "pon". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "pena"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "pena" is [ˈpena]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "pena" come from?
"pena" 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.

Similar Spanish words by spelling shape

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

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked Spanish headwords with 4 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

cabo#621leer#610jefe#609haga#628

Similar misspelling depth

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

ellas5 variantsvale5 variantsusar5 variantscausa5 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list