astillavsastillasTell them apart

Which to use

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

#48,226
“astilla” frequency rank
#45,756
“astillas” frequency rank
93982
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature astilla astillas
Definition El pedazo de madera que se saca de ella cuando se labra o el que queda de un palo, hueso, mineral, etc. cuando se ha roto. Forma del plural de astilla.

Where the eye mixes astilla and astillas

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

7 ch
astilla
8 ch
astillas

Visual trap between astilla and astillas

A purely visual mix-up. astilla ([asˈt̪iʝa]) and astillas ([asˈt̪iʝas]) 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 1 extra letter(s) - “astilla” sits inside “astillas”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 93982, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

astilla is recorded at frequency rank #48,226, classified as anoun, pronounced [asˈt̪iʝa]. astillas is at rank #45,756, tagged as anoun, pronounced [asˈt̪iʝas].

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 93982, this pair ranks #956 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of astilla vs astillas

Shared letters: ailst. Private to "astilla": -. Private to "astillas": -.

"astilla" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCCV  ·  "astillas" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • astillaasitlla · asstilla · astila · astilal · astlila · asttilla · atsilla · satilla
  • astillasasitllas · asstillas · astilals · astilas · astillass · astillsa · astlilas · asttillas

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "astilla" for "astillas" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([asˈt̪iʝa] versus [asˈt̪iʝas]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "astilla" vs "astillas" - which ranks higher?
"astillas" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #45,756 in our Spanish list, against #48,226 for "astilla". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "astilla" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "astillas" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #956 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "astilla" and "astillas" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "ardillas vs astillas". 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 #956 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