AdelavsAdolfTell them apart

Which to use

“Adela” and “Adolf” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#22,247
“Adela” frequency rank
#24,007
“Adolf” frequency rank
46254
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Adela Adolf
Definition Nombre de pila de mujer, entró con la invasión de los visigodos en la península Ibérica. Nombre de pila de varón, equivalente del español Adolfo.

Where the eye mixes Adela and Adolf

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.

5 ch
Adela
5 ch
Adolf

Why the eye confuses Adela with Adolf

A purely visual mix-up. Adela ([aˈð̞ela]) and Adolf ([ˈɑːdɔlf]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 46254, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Adela is recorded at frequency rank #22,247, classified as aname, pronounced [aˈð̞ela]. Adolf is at rank #24,007, tagged as aname, pronounced [ˈɑːdɔlf].

Glosses for this pair are partially populated in our dataset, but the full side-by-side definitions above should still guide you to the right choice.

With a confusion score of 46254, this pair ranks #126,793 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Adela vs Adolf

Shared letters: adl. Private to "Adela": e. Private to "Adolf": fo.

"Adela" · 5 letters · shape VCVCV  ·  "Adolf" · 5 letters · shape VCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Adelaaddela · adeal · adella · aedla · daela
  • Adolfaddolf · adlof · adofl · adolff · adollf · aodlf · daolf

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "Adela" for "Adolf" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([aˈð̞ela] versus [ˈɑːdɔlf]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "Adela" vs "Adolf" - which ranks higher?
"Adela" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #22,247 in our Spanish list, against #24,007 for "Adolf". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Adela" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Adolf" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #126,793 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Adela" and "Adolf" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Adela vs apelan". Nearby pair
  • Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes

Confusion rank #126,793 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list