placa
[ˈplaka]
The verdict
“placa” is a regularly-used Spanish word, ranked #4,186 in Spanish word frequency and used as a noun.
- #4,186
- frequency rank, Spanish
- 5
- letters
- 7
- tracked misspellings
- 20
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Pieza metálica delgada. Puede ser material de construcción o parte de la carrocería de un vehículo.
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 | placa |
| Language | Spanish |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | [ˈplaka] |
| Letters | 5 |
| Frequency rank | #4,186 |
| Misspellings tracked | 7 |
| Confusable pairs | 20 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “placa” sits in Spanish frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The Spanish entry for placa is 5 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as [ˈplaka]. Corpus data places it at rank #4,186 in overall Spanish word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 10 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 7 likely wrong-spelling variants for placa, with forms such as "lpaca", "palca", and "plaac". 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 20 confusable-pair relationships, "plan", "play", "plaza", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.
No borrowing history is documented for this entry, so its spelling is best explained by sound-to-letter mapping rather than etymology. The correct Spanish form is placa, spelled P-L-A-C-A.
Definition
- 1Pieza metálica delgada. Puede ser material de construcción o parte de la carrocería de un vehículo.
- 2Pieza metálica delgada y plana, de proporciones reducidas en la que se pone un inscripción. Puede ser usada para señalización del tránsito, recordatorio, información al público, entre otras funciones.
- 3Pequeña pieza metálica, plástica o de otro material rígido, que se pone en el frente de una vivienda, puerta o junto a la entrada, con una inscripción que indica el nombre y la actividad de la persona que allí reside o trabaja.
- 4Pequeña pieza metálica, plástica o de otro material rígido, que algunos funcionarios llevan con su nombre u otro tipo de identificacion, en la pechera de su uniforme, camisa o chaqueta.
- 5Pieza metálica de identificación que los policías de civil llevan en un bolsillo, y que solo muestran cuando se identifican como funcionarios policiales.
- 6Pequeña lámina metálica rectangular que se pone en la parte trasera de los vehículos con su identificación.
- 7Lámina o película de material que se acumula o forma sobre la superficie de un objeto.
- 8Cada una de las zonas rígidas de la corteza terrestre, que flotan sobre el manto y se desplazan unas con relación a otras.
- 9Pieza metálica plana y redonda, que en las cocinas eléctricas se usa para calentar sobre ella ollas, sartenes y otros recipientes para cocinar.
- 10Un juego de la República Dominicana que es similar a críquet.
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: lpaca,palca,plaac,placca,plcaa,pllaca,pplaca
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of placa - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.
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 "placa"?
What does "placa" mean?
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Is PlainSpell free to use?
Using “placa”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct Spanish spelling is P-L-A-C-A - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as [ˈplaka] (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “plan” - see the side-by-side comparison. placa vs plan
- 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.