Which to use
“alfil” and “alfiler” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #42,795
- “alfil” frequency rank
- #36,390
- “alfiler” frequency rank
- 79185
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | alfil | alfiler |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | (♗, ♝) Cada una de las cuatro piezas del ajedrez que se mueven únicamente en diagonal. | Clavo metálico muy fino, el cual se usa para prender o sujetar. |
Where the eye mixes alfil and alfiler
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. alfil runs 5 letters (VCCVC) against alfiler's 7 (VCCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses alfil with alfiler
A purely visual mix-up. alfil ([alˈfil]) and alfiler ([alfiˈleɾ]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “alfil” sits inside “alfiler”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 79185, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
alfil is recorded at frequency rank #42,795, classified as anoun, pronounced [alˈfil]. alfiler is at rank #36,390, tagged as anoun, pronounced [alfiˈleɾ].
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 79185, this pair ranks #13,364 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of alfil vs alfiler
Shared letters: afil. Private to "alfil": -. Private to "alfiler": er.
"alfil" · 5 letters · shape VCCVC · "alfiler" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "alfil" for "alfiler" ever safe?
Which is more common, "alfil" or "alfiler"?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "alfil" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "alfiler" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #13,364 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "alfil" and "alfiler" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "alfil vs alió". 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 #13,364 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.