z

[ˈset̪a]

/[ˈset̪a]/ character

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

The verdict

“z” sits in 12 confusable pairs (corpus #4,211) as a character. The look-alike neighbours are the real trap.

#4,211
frequency rank, Spanish
220
“Z” headwords
12
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Vigesimoséptima y última letra del abecedario español. Su nombre es zeta o zeda. En la mayor parte de España, es fricativo interdental sordo y en América es el fonema consonántico fricativo dentoal...

Corpus desk

Index ES-z · z · Spanish

z · rank #4,211 · 0 variants · 12 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #4,211
  • LEN-SHORT 1 letters
  • VOW-0 0 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 12 pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 220
  • PHOTO-FINISH volar

Nearest frequency peer: volar (-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.

Frequency neighbourhood for “z”

Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)

corpus weight

What this shows Bars show where “z” sits against the nearest ranked Spanish headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.

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).

z vs za
50% similar
z vs ze
50% similar
z vs zi
50% similar

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

Key facts for z
PropertyValue
Headwordz
LanguageSpanish
Part of speechCharacter
IPA[ˈset̪a]
Letters1
Frequency rank#4,211
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs12
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Dónde se sitúa “z” en la frecuencia del español

La frecuencia va del puñado de palabras que usamos sin parar (izquierda) a la cola larga que apenas aparece (derecha).zcae aquí:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Los ticks avanzan en logaritmo; cada uno es del orden de diez veces más raro. En la misma franja de rareza aparecen “volar” (#4,210), “ácido” (#4,212), “vigente” (#4,209). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Easy to mix with look-alikes

The spelling risk for z is neighbouring look-alikes ("za", "ze", …), not just typos; it is acharacter pronounced [ˈset̪a]. Frequency #4,211 among 220 “Z” headwords. Gloss: "Vigesimoséptima y última letra del abecedario español. Su nombre es zeta o zeda. En la mayor parte de España, es fricativo interdental sordo y en América es el fonema consonántico fricativo dentoal...".

No generated misspelling entries exist for z in our index, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. It also participates in 12 confusable-pair relationships, "za", "ze", "zi", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

This headword's origin isn't recorded in our source data, so any spelling logic here comes from how the word's sounds map to letters, not a documented origin story. The correct Spanish form is z, spelled Z.

Definition

  1. 1
    Vigesimoséptima y última letra del abecedario español. Su nombre es zeta o zeda. En la mayor parte de España, es fricativo interdental sordo y en América es el fonema consonántico fricativo dentoalveolar sordo.

This word in other languages

z(English)z(Français)

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 "z"?
"z" is spelled Z. The IPA pronunciation is [ˈset̪a].
What does "z" mean?
As a character, "z" means: Vigesimoséptima y última letra del abecedario español. Su nombre es zeta o zeda. En la mayor parte de España, es fricativo interdental sordo y en América es el fonema consonántico fricativo dentoal...
What words are commonly confused with "z"?
"z" is commonly confused with "za", "ze", "zi". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "z"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "z" is [ˈset̪a]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "z" come from?
"z" 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.

What to do next

You've looked up "z". Here's where to go from here.

  • "z" maps to 12 confusable pairs in this vintage; the highest-scored is "za". View pair
  • Usage frequency rank #4,211 among Spanish headwords in this corpus. Corpus statistics
  • Browse more Spanish words in the "Z" letter cohort. Z–Z browse

PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.

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