automáticovsautomáticosWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#7,823
“automático” frequency rank
#18,752
“automáticos” frequency rank
26575
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature automático automáticos
Definition Dicho de un aparato: que realiza operaciones o funciones sin la intervención humana. Forma del plural de automático.

Where the eye mixes automático and automáticos

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 10 letters in sequence. automático runs 10 letters (VVCVCVCVCV) against automáticos's 11 (VVCVCVCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

10 ch
automático
11 ch
automáticos

Why the eye confuses automático with automáticos

A purely visual mix-up. automático ([awt̪oˈmat̪iko]) and automáticos ([awt̪oˈmat̪ikos]) 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) - “automático” sits inside “automáticos”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 26575, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

automático is recorded at frequency rank #7,823, classified as anadj, pronounced [awt̪oˈmat̪iko]. automáticos is at rank #18,752, tagged as anadj, pronounced [awt̪oˈmat̪ikos].

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 26575, this pair ranks #230,999 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of automático vs automáticos

Shared letters: acimotuá. Private to "automático": -. Private to "automáticos": s.

"automático" · 10 letters · shape VVCVCVCVCV  ·  "automáticos" · 11 letters · shape VVCVCVCVCVC

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "automático" and "automáticos" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([awt̪oˈmat̪iko] versus [awt̪oˈmat̪ikos]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary Spanish text, does "automático" or "automáticos" show up more?
"automático" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #7,823 in our Spanish list, against #18,752 for "automáticos". 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 "automático" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "automáticos" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #230,999 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "automático" and "automáticos" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "aromático vs automático". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #230,999 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