Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

vaquita

/vəˈkiːtə/

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 1.58 in modern English

Syllables: va-qui-ta
IPA: /vəˈkiːtə/

19

Scrabble Score

7

Letters

3

Syllables

6

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

A critically endangered porpoise, the smallest of its kind, of species Phocoena sinus, endemic to the northern part of the Gulf of California, Mexico.

Example Sentences

"THE world’s smallest porpoise may have a fighting chance. The vaquita might be saved from extinction by an agreement at a meeting of the International Whaling Commission (IWC) in Portoroz, Slovenia, last week. Unique to the Gulf of California, the vaquita has seen its numbers collapse to 59 in 2015."

Etymology

From Spanish vaquita (“little cow”), diminutive of vaca (“cow”).

Origin

Source language: Spanish

Word Breakdown

Root: vaquita

Inflected Forms

vaquitas (plural)

Phrases

sea cow blue whale

Frequently Paired Words

sea cow porpoise blue whale

Synonyms

cochito desert porpoise Gulf of California harbor porpoise Gulf of California porpoise gulf porpoise vaquita marina vaquita porpoise phocoena sinus

Rhymes With

beta rita meta kite vita eta margarita cheetah peta theta zeta pita

Questions

How do you pronounce vaquita?: The recorded pronunciation is /vəˈkiːtə/.
What does vaquita mean?: A critically endangered porpoise, the smallest of its kind, of species Phocoena sinus, endemic to the northern part of the Gulf of California, Mexico.
Where does vaquita come from?: It is traced to Spanish.

How to pronounce vaquita

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