Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

nopal

/noʊˈpɑl/

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 1.67 in modern English

Syllables: nopal
IPA: /noʊˈpɑl/

7

Scrabble Score

5

Letters

1

Syllables

5

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

A prickly pear cactus from the genus Opuntia, especially Opuntia cochinellifera; the edible pads (fleshy leaves) of the cactus, considered as food.

Example Sentences

"They rode up through cholla and nopal, a dwarf forest of spined things, through a stone gap in the mountains and down among blooming artemisia and aloe."
"Nopal is a prickly pear native to arid areas of North and South America.[…]Nopal is high in fiber, vitamins, protein, and mucilage."

Etymology

From Spanish nopal, from Classical Nahuatl nohpalli (“Opuntia cactus”). Compare nopales.

Origin

Source language: Spanish

Word Breakdown

Root: nopal, nohpalli

Regional Pronunciation

American English: /noʊˈpɑl/
British English: /ˈnəʊpəl/

Inflected Forms

nopals (plural)

Synonyms

prickly pear nopales opuntia lindheimeri

Rhymes With

constantinople opal

Questions

How do you pronounce nopal?: The recorded pronunciation is /noʊˈpɑl/.
What does nopal mean?: A prickly pear cactus from the genus Opuntia, especially Opuntia cochinellifera; the edible pads (fleshy leaves) of the cactus, considered as food.
Where does nopal come from?: It is traced to Spanish.

How to pronounce nopal

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “nopal”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/noʊˈpɑl/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “nopal”.
Repeat and practice — Say “nopal” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.