Which to use
“brilla” and “brillan” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #11,365
- “brilla” frequency rank
- #20,286
- “brillan” frequency rank
- 31651
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | brilla | brillan |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de brillar. | Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de brillar. |
Where the eye mixes brilla and brillan
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. brilla runs 6 letters (CCVCCV) against brillan's 7 (CCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: brilla vs brillan
A purely visual mix-up. brilla ([ˈbɾiʝa]) and brillan ([ˈbɾiʝãn]) 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) - “brilla” sits inside “brillan”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 31651, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
brilla is recorded at frequency rank #11,365, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈbɾiʝa]. brillan is at rank #20,286, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈbɾiʝãn].
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 31651, this pair ranks #206,009 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of brilla vs brillan
Shared letters: abilr. Private to "brilla": -. Private to "brillan": n.
"brilla" · 6 letters · shape CCVCCV · "brillan" · 7 letters · shape CCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "brilla" and "brillan" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "brilla" vs "brillan" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "brilla" and "brillan" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "brilla" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "brillan" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #206,009 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "brilla" and "brillan" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "brillaba vs brillan". 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 #206,009 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.