The word Arapunga is spelled with the letter "r" at the beginning followed by "a" and "p", making the pronunciation /əræˈpʌŋɡə/. The "a" sound is pronounced like "uh". The second syllable is "a" again, followed by "puh" sound and "nga" at the end. The spelling of this word reflects the indigenous language of Brazil, Tupi, from which Arapunga originates. In Tupi, "ara" means "bird" and "punga" means "trap", so Arapunga is the "bird-trap" bird.