avancevsavancesConfusable pair

Quick tell: avance is a noun, avances is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“avance” is a noun and “avances” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#2,964
“avance” frequency rank
#4,971
“avances” frequency rank
7935
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature avance avances
Definition Película de corta duración que anuncia un largometraje antes de su exhibición. Segunda persona del singular (tú) del presente de subjuntivo de avanzar.

Where the eye mixes avance and avances

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. avance runs 6 letters (VCVCCV) against avances's 7 (VCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

6 ch
avance
7 ch
avances

Visual trap between avance and avances

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: avance is [aˈβ̞ãnse] while avances is [aˈβ̞ãnses]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “avance” sits inside “avances”, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 7935, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

avance is recorded at frequency rank #2,964, classified as anoun, pronounced [aˈβ̞ãnse]. avances is at rank #4,971, tagged as averb, pronounced [aˈβ̞ãnses].

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 7935, this pair ranks #306,488 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of avance vs avances

Shared letters: acenv. Private to "avance": -. Private to "avances": s.

"avance" · 6 letters · shape VCVCCV  ·  "avances" · 7 letters · shape VCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • avance ← aavnce · abance · avacne · avancce · avanec · avannce · avanse · avnace
  • avances ← aavnces · abances · avacnes · avancces · avancess · avancse · avanecs · avannces

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "avance" and "avances" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "avance" is a noun and "avances" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "avance" or "avances"?
"avance" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,964 in our Spanish list, against #4,971 for "avances". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Eye-level mix-up between "avance" and "avances" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "avance" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "avances" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #306,488 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "avance" and "avances" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "avancen vs avances". 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 #306,488 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