ambiciónvsambicionesWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#9,400
“ambición” frequency rank
#13,182
“ambiciones” frequency rank
22582
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature ambición ambiciones
Definition Pasión ardiente y desordenada por conseguir riquezas, fama, poder, dignidades o cualquier cosa que halague el amor propio. Forma del plural de ambición.

Where the eye mixes ambición and ambiciones

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence.

8 ch
ambición
10 ch
ambiciones

Look-alike desk: ambición vs ambiciones

A purely visual mix-up. ambición ([ãmbiˈsjõn]) and ambiciones ([ãmbiˈsjones]) 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 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 22582, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

ambición is recorded at frequency rank #9,400, classified as anoun, pronounced [ãmbiˈsjõn]. ambiciones is at rank #13,182, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ãmbiˈsjones].

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 22582, this pair ranks #249,639 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of ambición vs ambiciones

Shared letters: abcimn. Private to "ambición": ó. Private to "ambiciones": eos.

"ambición" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCVVC  ·  "ambiciones" · 10 letters · shape VCCVCVVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • ambicionesabmiciones · ambbiciones · ambciiones · ambicciones · ambicinoes · ambicioens · ambicioness · ambicionnes

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "ambición" and "ambiciones" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ãmbiˈsjõn] versus [ãmbiˈsjones]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "ambición" vs "ambiciones" - which ranks higher?
"ambición" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #9,400 in our Spanish list, against #13,182 for "ambiciones". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "ambición" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "ambiciones" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #249,639 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "ambición" and "ambiciones" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "ambiciones vs ambiciosas". 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 #249,639 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