brujavsbrujoWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#9,079
“bruja” frequency rank
#18,173
“brujo” frequency rank
27252
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature bruja brujo
Definition Mujer a la que se le atribuyen poderes mágicos y sobrenaturales, en la mayoría de los casos empleados para hacer el mal. Varón que posee o al que se le adjudican poderes mágicos, especialmente de origen religioso

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set bruja and brujo apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
bruja
5 ch
brujo

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. bruja ([ˈbɾuxa]) and brujo ([ˈbɾuxo]) 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 a single letter - a in “bruja” becomes o in “brujo”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 27252, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

bruja is recorded at frequency rank #9,079, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈbɾuxa]. brujo is at rank #18,173, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈbɾuxo].

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 27252, this pair ranks #227,751 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of bruja vs brujo

Shared letters: bjru. Private to "bruja": a. Private to "brujo": o.

"bruja" · 5 letters · shape CCVCV  ·  "brujo" · 5 letters · shape CCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • brujabbruja · brjua · brruja · bruaj · brujja · burja · rbuja · vruja
  • brujobbrujo · brjuo · brrujo · brujjo · bruoj · burjo · rbujo · vrujo

Frequency comparison

bruja#9,079
brujo#18,173

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "bruja" and "brujo" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈbɾuxa] versus [ˈbɾuxo]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "bruja" or "brujo"?
"bruja" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #9,079 in our Spanish list, against #18,173 for "brujo". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering bruja vs brujo

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “bruja” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list