señal

[seˈɲal]

/[seˈɲal]/ noun

The verdict

“señal” is a regularly-used Spanish word, ranked #1,918 in Spanish word frequency and used as a noun.

#1,918
frequency rank, Spanish
5
letters
7
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) — Marca o nota que se pone o hay en las cosas para darlas a conocer y distinguirlas de otras.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

señal vs sepa
60% similar
señal vs sera
60% similar
señal vs seno
40% similar

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

Key facts for señal
PropertyValue
Headwordseñal
LanguageSpanish
Part of speechNoun
IPA[seˈɲal]
Letters5
Frequency rank#1,918
Misspellings tracked7
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “señal” 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). señal 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 señal is 5 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as [seˈɲal]. Corpus data places it at rank #1,918 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 señal, with forms such as "ceñal", "esñal", and "seañl". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "sepa", "sera", "seno", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

No explicit etymology string is stored for this entry, so spelling patterns must be inferred from the word's phoneme-to-grapheme mapping rather than from a documented borrowing chain. For readers arriving here from a spelling check, the authoritative guidance is: the correct Spanish form is señal, spelled S-E-Ñ-A-L, and any other sequence of those letters, regardless of how natural it feels, is a misspelling in standard orthography.

Definition

  1. 1
    Marca o nota que se pone o hay en las cosas para darlas a conocer y distinguirlas de otras.
  2. 2
    Cualquier signo que se emplea para acordarse después de una cosa.
  3. 3
    Vestigio o impresión que queda de una cosa, mediante la cual se advierte de ella.
  4. 4
    Signo, símbolo o representación de algo, que avisa o informa.
  5. 5
    Indicio o muestra no material de una cosa.
  6. 6
    Hito o poste que se pone para señalar un término.
  7. 7
    Aviso que se comunica o da, de cualquier modo que sea, para concurrir a un lugar determinado o para ejecutar una cosa.
  8. 8
    Cicatriz que queda en el cuerpo por resultas de una herida u otro daño.
  9. 9
    Aviso que se comunica o se da, de cualquier modo que sea, para concurrir a un lugar determinado o para ejecutar otra cosa.
  10. 10
    Seña ₅ (pago adelantado).

Synonyms

This word in other languages

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: ceñal,esñal,seañl,señall,señla,sseñal,sñeal

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

Edit distance from "señal"

ceñal1esñal2seañl2señall1señla2sseñal1sñeal2
Edit distance from "señal"

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.

Cite this page

Free to reuse with attribution (CC BY-SA). Copy the citation:

PlainSpell, “señal, Spanish word data” (May 6, 2026). Derived from Wiktionary (kaikki.org, CC BY-SA) and an open word-frequency list. https://plainspell.com/es/palabra/senal

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "señal"?
"señal" is spelled S-E-Ñ-A-L. The IPA pronunciation is [seˈɲal].
What does "señal" mean?
As a noun, "señal" means: Marca o nota que se pone o hay en las cosas para darlas a conocer y distinguirlas de otras.
What words are commonly confused with "señal"?
"señal" is commonly confused with "sepa", "sera", "seno". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "señal"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "señal" is [seˈɲal]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "señal" come from?
"señal" is a Spanish word. PlainSpell covers definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German.
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 “señal”

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

  • The one correct Spanish spelling is S-E-Ñ-A-L - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as [seˈɲal] (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Don't mix it up with “sepa” - see the side-by-side comparison. señal vs sepa
  • Browse more Spanish words and confusable pairs in the same reference. Spanish words

Nearby Spanish words

Other entries that begin with the letter S in our Spanish index:

Explore PlainSpell

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