autómatavsautomáticaConfusable pair

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

Which to use

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

#45,760
“autómata” frequency rank
#9,590
“automática” frequency rank
55350
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature autómata automática
Definition Máquina, aparato o instrumento que realiza sus propios movimientos gracias a un mecanismo interno. Forma del femenino de automático.

Where the eye mixes autómata and automática

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. autómata runs 8 letters (VVCVCVCV) against automática's 10 (VVCVCVCVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

8 ch
autómata
10 ch
automática

Visual trap between autómata and automática

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: autómata is [awˈt̪omat̪a] while automática is [awt̪oˈmat̪ika]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 55350, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

autómata is recorded at frequency rank #45,760, classified as anoun, pronounced [awˈt̪omat̪a]. automática is at rank #9,590, tagged as anadj, pronounced [awt̪oˈmat̪ika].

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 55350, this pair ranks #79,312 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of autómata vs automática

Shared letters: amtu. Private to "autómata": ó. Private to "automática": cioá.

"autómata" · 8 letters · shape VVCVCVCV  ·  "automática" · 10 letters · shape VVCVCVCVCV

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "autómata" and "automática" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "autómata" is a noun and "automática" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
In ordinary Spanish text, does "autómata" or "automática" show up more?
"automática" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #9,590 in our Spanish list, against #45,760 for "autómata". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

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 "autómata" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "automática" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #79,312 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "autómata" and "automática" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "autómata vs autómatas". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #79,312 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