Pronunciation: [pəɹˈɑːnə] (IPA) 
The spelling of the word "piranha" may be a bit tricky at first glance, but it can be easily broken down using IPA phonetic transcription. The word is pronounced as /pɪˈrɑːnə/, with the stress on the second syllable. The "i" is pronounced as "ih", while the "a" is pronounced as "ah". The "h" is silent, as is typical in English words with a "ph" combination. With this understanding, the spelling of "piranha" can be easily mastered.
Piranha refers to a type of freshwater fish belonging to the family Characidae and the subfamily Serrasalminae. The term is derived from the indigenous South American Tupi language, where it means "toothfish." Piranhas are notorious for their sharp teeth and powerful jaws, which are adapted for feeding on other fish and sometimes small animals.
Typically found in the rivers and lakes of South America, piranhas are known for their aggressive feeding behavior. They have a reputation as ferocious predators due to their ability to hunt in schools and swiftly strip flesh off their prey. Their serrated, triangular teeth help them tear through the flesh effectively, and they have a keen sense of smell and acute vision to locate their prey. Though piranhas generally feed on other fish, they have been known to also consume insects, crustaceans, plants, and even larger mammals or birds that may be injured or weakened.
The most commonly known species is the red-bellied piranha (Pygocentrus nattereri), which tends to be about 6 to 10 inches long. However, various other species exist, ranging in size from just a few inches to more than 2 feet in length. While piranhas are frequently portrayed as extremely dangerous and highly aggressive towards humans, most species are not a significant threat to humans unless they are provoked or in situations of extreme hunger.
Due to their distinctive features and intriguing behavior, piranhas have become popular subjects of fascination in the realms of biology, zoology, and ecological studies.
* The statistics data for these misspellings percentages are collected from over 15,411,110 spell check sessions on www.spellchecker.net from Jan 2010 - Jun 2012.
The word "piranha" is derived from the Tupi-Guarani language, which is spoken by indigenous people in South America, particularly in regions of Brazil and Paraguay. In this language, the term "pirá" means "fish" and "sainha" or "saina" means "tooth", thus combining to form the word "piranha". Over time, this word was adopted into Portuguese and then into English to refer specifically to the fearsome, carnivorous fish species found in South American rivers.
