bombillavsbombillasConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#21,912
“bombilla” frequency rank
#38,535
“bombillas” frequency rank
60447
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature bombilla bombillas
Definition Dispositivo eléctrico formado por un filamento de vanadio u otro metal en un recipiente vacío o lleno de un gas inerte, a través del cual se hace pasar corriente eléctrica para iluminar por incandescencia. Forma del plural de bombilla.

Where the eye mixes bombilla and bombillas

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. bombilla runs 8 letters (CVCCVCCV) against bombillas's 9 (CVCCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

8 ch
bombilla
9 ch
bombillas

Why the eye confuses bombilla with bombillas

A purely visual mix-up. bombilla ([bõmˈbiʝa]) and bombillas ([bõmˈbiʝas]) 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) - “bombilla” sits inside “bombillas”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 60447, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

bombilla is recorded at frequency rank #21,912, classified as anoun, pronounced [bõmˈbiʝa]. bombillas is at rank #38,535, tagged as anoun, pronounced [bõmˈbiʝas].

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 60447, this pair ranks #58,933 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of bombilla vs bombillas

Shared letters: abilmo. Private to "bombilla": -. Private to "bombillas": s.

"bombilla" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCCV  ·  "bombillas" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • bombilla ← bbombilla · bmobilla · bobmilla · bombbilla · bombila · bombilal · bomblila · bomiblla
  • bombillas ← bbombillas · bmobillas · bobmillas · bombbillas · bombilals · bombilas · bombillass · bombillsa

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "bombilla" and "bombillas" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([bõmˈbiʝa] versus [bõmˈbiʝas]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "bombilla" or "bombillas"?
"bombilla" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #21,912 in our Spanish list, against #38,535 for "bombillas". 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 "bombilla" and "bombillas" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "bombilla" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "bombillas" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #58,933 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "bombilla" and "bombillas" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "bombilla vs boquilla". 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 #58,933 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