iguana

noun

The verdict

“iguana” is a moderately-common Portuguese word, ranked #45,882 in Portuguese word frequency and used as a noun.

#45,882
frequency rank, Portuguese
6
letters
6
tracked misspellings
2
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - nome genérico de diversos répteis lacertílios da família dos iguanídeos (Iguanadae), originários das regiões temperadas e tropicais das Américas Central e do Sul

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

iguana vs iguaria
71% similar
iguana vs Iguaçu
50% similar

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

Key facts for iguana
PropertyValue
Headwordiguana
LanguagePortuguese
Part of speechNoun
Letters6
Frequency rank#45,882
Misspellings tracked6
Confusable pairs2
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “iguana” 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). iguana 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 Portuguese entry for iguana is 6 letters long, classified as a noun. Corpus data places it at rank #45,882 in overall Portuguese word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. The dominant gloss from Wiktionary reads: "nome genérico de diversos répteis lacertílios da família dos iguanídeos (Iguanadae), originários das regiões temperadas e tropicais das Américas Central e do Sul".

Our generated misspelling index lists 6 likely wrong-spelling variants for iguana, with forms such as "igauna", "igguana", and "iguaan". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 2 confusable-pair relationships, "iguaria", "Iguaçu", since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

This entry carries no recorded etymology, so its spelling is easiest explained by how it's pronounced rather than where it came from. The correct Portuguese form is iguana, spelled I-G-U-A-N-A.

Definition

  1. 1
    nome genérico de diversos répteis lacertílios da família dos iguanídeos (Iguanadae), originários das regiões temperadas e tropicais das Américas Central e do Sul

Synonyms

senembysenembisenembusinimbusinumbutijibu

This word in other languages

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: igauna,igguana,iguaan,iguanna,igunaa,iugana

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of iguana - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

igauna2igguana1iguaan2iguanna1igunaa2iugana2
Edit distance from "iguana"

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 "iguana"?
"iguana" is spelled I-G-U-A-N-A.
What does "iguana" mean?
As a noun, "iguana" means: nome genérico de diversos répteis lacertílios da família dos iguanídeos (Iguanadae), originários das regiões temperadas e tropicais das Américas Central e do Sul
What words are commonly confused with "iguana"?
"iguana" is commonly confused with "iguaria", "Iguaçu". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
What language does "iguana" come from?
"iguana" 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 “iguana”

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

  • The one correct Portuguese spelling is I-G-U-A-N-A - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Don't mix it up with “iguaria” - see the side-by-side comparison. iguana vs iguaria
  • Browse more Portuguese words and confusable pairs in the same reference. Portuguese 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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list