penuria

[peˈnuɾja]

/[peˈnuɾja]/ noun

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

The verdict

“penuria” is an uncommon Spanish word, ranked #57,997 in Spanish word frequency and used as a noun.

#57,997
frequency rank, Spanish
7
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Escasez, falta de las cosas esenciales o de una de ellas.

Key facts for penuria
PropertyValue
Headwordpenuria
LanguageSpanish
Part of speechNoun
IPA[peˈnuɾja]
Letters7
Frequency rank#57,997
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “penuria” 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). penuria 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 penuria is 7 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as [peˈnuɾja]. Corpus data places it at rank #57,997 in overall Spanish word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. The dominant gloss from Wiktionary reads: "Escasez, falta de las cosas esenciales o de una de ellas.".

Our edit-distance generator produced no likely misspellings for penuria, a sign its spelling follows regular Spanish conventions. We don't track a confusable pairing for this entry, since its spelling is unusual enough that it doesn't cluster with a lookalike.

Our source data has no etymology on file for this entry, 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 penuria, spelled P-E-N-U-R-I-A.

Definition

  1. 1
    Escasez, falta de las cosas esenciales o de una de ellas.

Synonyms

escasezestrechezcarenciaindigenciapobrezamiseria

Antonyms

abundanciariqueza

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 "penuria"?
"penuria" is spelled P-E-N-U-R-I-A. The IPA pronunciation is [peˈnuɾja].
What does "penuria" mean?
As a noun, "penuria" means: Escasez, falta de las cosas esenciales o de una de ellas.
How do you pronounce "penuria"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "penuria" is [peˈnuɾja]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "penuria" come from?
"penuria" 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 “penuria”

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

  • The one correct Spanish spelling is P-E-N-U-R-I-A - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as [peˈnuɾja] (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
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