valer la pena

[baˈleɾ la ˈpena]

/[baˈleɾ la ˈpena]/ phrase

The verdict

“valer la pena” is uncommon Spanish (outside the top frequency list), classed as a phrase. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency Spanish
13
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Estar justificado el trabajo o esfuerzo que se hace para conseguir algún beneficio ya sea material o no.

Corpus desk

Index ES-valer-la-pena · valer la pena · Spanish

valer la pena · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-MEGA 13 letters
  • VOW-5 5 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "V" thin
  • PHOTO-UNK Peer pending

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.

Key facts for valer la pena
PropertyValue
Headwordvaler la pena
LanguageSpanish
Part of speechPhrase
IPA[baˈleɾ la ˈpena]
Letters13
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Cola larga: rango de “valer la pena” en español

valer la penaqueda fuera de las 100.000 palabras españolas más frecuentes, en la cola larga de vocabulario técnico, arcaico o raro, justo donde más se duda de la ortografía.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

valer la pena is uncommon Spanish outside the top frequency list, classed as aphrase, transcribed [baˈleɾ la ˈpena]. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "Estar justificado el trabajo o esfuerzo que se hace para conseguir algún beneficio ya sea material o no.".

Our edit-distance generator produced no likely misspellings for valer la pena, and the word's spelling is regular enough that our generator found nothing worth flagging. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.

No borrowing history is documented for this entry, so its spelling is best read as a straightforward mapping from sound to letter. The correct Spanish form is valer la pena, spelled V-A-L-E-R- -L-A- -P-E-N-A.

Definition

  1. 1
    Estar justificado el trabajo o esfuerzo que se hace para conseguir algún beneficio ya sea material o no.

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "valer la pena"?
"valer la pena" is spelled V-A-L-E-R- -L-A- -P-E-N-A. The IPA pronunciation is [baˈleɾ la ˈpena].
What does "valer la pena" mean?
As a phrase, "valer la pena" means: Estar justificado el trabajo o esfuerzo que se hace para conseguir algún beneficio ya sea material o no.
How do you pronounce "valer la pena"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "valer la pena" is [baˈleɾ la ˈpena]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "valer la pena" come from?
"valer la pena" is a Spanish word. PlainSpell's reference spans five languages -- English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German -- with definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for each.
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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list