anclavsanexaConfusable pair

Quick tell: ancla is a noun, anexa is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“ancla” is a noun and “anexa” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#21,555
“ancla” frequency rank
#36,398
“anexa” frequency rank
57953
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature ancla anexa
Definition Instrumento fuerte de hierro, como arpón o anzuelo de dos lengüetas, el cual afirmado al extremo del cable o gúmena, y arrojado al mar, sirve para aferrar o amarrar las embarcaciones, y asegurarlas del ímpetu de los vientos. Forma del femenino de anexo.

Where the eye mixes ancla and anexa

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. ancla (VCCCV) and anexa (VCVCV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.

5 ch
ancla
5 ch
anexa

Look-alike desk: ancla vs anexa

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: ancla is [ˈãŋkla] while anexa is [aˈneksa]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 57953, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

ancla is recorded at frequency rank #21,555, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈãŋkla]. anexa is at rank #36,398, tagged as anadj, pronounced [aˈneksa].

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 57953, this pair ranks #68,376 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of ancla vs anexa

Shared letters: an. Private to "ancla": cl. Private to "anexa": ex.

"ancla" · 5 letters · shape VCCCV  ·  "anexa" · 5 letters · shape VCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • ancla ← acnla · ancal · anccla · anclla · anlca · anncla · nacla
  • anexa ← aenxa · aneax · anexxa · annexa · anxea · naexa

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "ancla" and "anexa" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "ancla" is a noun and "anexa" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "ancla" or "anexa"?
"ancla" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #21,555 in our Spanish list, against #36,398 for "anexa". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "ancla" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "anexa" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #68,376 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "ancla" and "anexa" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "anexa vs anta". 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 #68,376 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