ariranha

noun

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

The verdict

“ariranha” is uncommon Portuguese (frequency #68,609 among 4,352 “A” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#68,609
frequency rank, Portuguese
4,352
“A” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - mamífero semiaquático da família Mustelidae, de nome científico Pteronura brasiliensis, conhecido também como lontra-gigante, nativo da América do Sul, especialmente da Amazônia e do Pantanal

Key facts for ariranha
PropertyValue
Headwordariranha
LanguagePortuguese
Part of speechNoun
Letters8
Frequency rank#68,609
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “ariranha” sits in Portuguese 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). ariranha lands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

ariranha is uncommon Portuguese at frequency #68,609 among 4,352 “A” headwords, classed as anoun. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "mamífero semiaquático da família Mustelidae, de nome científico Pteronura brasiliensis, conhecido também como lontra-gigante, nativo da América do Sul, especialmente da Amazônia e do Pantanal".

Our edit-distance generator produced no likely misspellings for ariranha, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. Our dataset records no confusable match here, suggesting its spelling stands apart enough that readers rarely confuse it with something else.

This entry carries no recorded etymology, leaving phoneme-to-grapheme mapping as the best guide to its spelling rather than a borrowing history. The correct Portuguese form is ariranha, spelled A-R-I-R-A-N-H-A.

Definition

  1. 1
    mamífero semiaquático da família Mustelidae, de nome científico Pteronura brasiliensis, conhecido também como lontra-gigante, nativo da América do Sul, especialmente da Amazônia e do Pantanal

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 Portuguese corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "ariranha"?
"ariranha" is spelled A-R-I-R-A-N-H-A.
What does "ariranha" mean?
As a noun, "ariranha" means: mamífero semiaquático da família Mustelidae, de nome científico Pteronura brasiliensis, conhecido também como lontra-gigante, nativo da América do Sul, especialmente da Amazônia e do Pantanal
What language does "ariranha" come from?
"ariranha" is a Portuguese 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.

Using “ariranha”

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

  • The one correct Portuguese spelling is A-R-I-R-A-N-H-A - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Browse more Portuguese words and confusable pairs in the same reference. Portuguese words

Other uncommon Portuguese words near this rank

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