automóvilvsautomóvilesWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#6,871
“automóvil” frequency rank
#8,083
“automóviles” frequency rank
14954
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature automóvil automóviles
Definition Vehículo autopropulsado con ruedas que, dado su diseño, puede circular por tierra sin necesidad de un dispositivo de guía. Forma del plural de automóvil.

Where the eye mixes automóvil and automóviles

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 9 letters in sequence. automóvil runs 9 letters (VVCVCVCVC) against automóviles's 11 (VVCVCVCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

9 ch
automóvil
11 ch
automóviles

Look-alike desk: automóvil vs automóviles

A purely visual mix-up. automóvil ([awt̪oˈmoβ̞il]) and automóviles ([awt̪oˈmoβ̞iles]) 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 extra letter(s) - “automóvil” sits inside “automóviles”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 14954, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

automóvil is recorded at frequency rank #6,871, classified as anoun, pronounced [awt̪oˈmoβ̞il]. automóviles is at rank #8,083, tagged as anoun, pronounced [awt̪oˈmoβ̞iles].

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 14954, this pair ranks #282,069 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of automóvil vs automóviles

Shared letters: ailmotuvó. Private to "automóvil": -. Private to "automóviles": es.

"automóvil" · 9 letters · shape VVCVCVCVC  ·  "automóviles" · 11 letters · shape VVCVCVCVCVC

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "automóvil" and "automóviles" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([awt̪oˈmoβ̞il] versus [awt̪oˈmoβ̞iles]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "automóvil" or "automóviles"?
"automóvil" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #6,871 in our Spanish list, against #8,083 for "automóviles". 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 "automóvil" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "automóviles" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #282,069 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics

Confusion rank #282,069 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