quetzal
\kɛt.zal\
The verdict
“quetzal” is uncommon French (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency French
- 7
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Nom normalisé donné à deux genres comprenant six espèces d'oiseaux arboricoles de la famille des trogonidés, de taille supérieure à celle des trogons, au plumage principalement coloré de vert et de...
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | quetzal |
| Language | French |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | \kɛt.zal\ |
| Letters | 7 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “quetzal” sits in French frequency
Rare enough to double-check
quetzal is uncommon French outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun, transcribed \kɛt.zal\. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.
No misspelling variants are generated for quetzal in our index, since its letter pattern doesn't lend itself to common typo substitutions. This headword has no recorded confusable partner, suggesting its spelling stands apart enough that readers rarely confuse it with something else.
This entry's etymology isn't recorded, so spelling patterns must be inferred from the word's phoneme-to-grapheme mapping rather than from a documented borrowing chain. The correct French form is quetzal, spelled Q-U-E-T-Z-A-L.
Definition
- 1Nom normalisé donné à deux genres comprenant six espèces d'oiseaux arboricoles de la famille des trogonidés, de taille supérieure à celle des trogons, au plumage principalement coloré de vert et de rouge, typiquement dotées de très longues rectrices ornementales, et fréquentant pour la plupart les forêts montagneuses de l'écozone néotropicale (genres Euptilotis et Pharomachrus).
- 2Monnaie du Guatemala.
This word in other languages
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 "quetzal"?
What does "quetzal" mean?
How do you pronounce "quetzal"?
What language does "quetzal" come from?
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Using “quetzal”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct French spelling is Q-U-E-T-Z-A-L - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as \kɛt.zal\ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Browse more French words and confusable pairs in the same reference. French 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.