capitalvscapitalesWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#465
“capital” frequency rank
#5,928
“capitales” frequency rank
6393
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature capital capitales
Definition Que pertenece o concierne a la cabeza. Forma del plural de capital.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set capital and capitales apart are highlighted. They share 7 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

7 ch
capital
9 ch
capitales

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. capital ([kapiˈt̪al]) and capitales ([kapiˈt̪ales]) 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) - “capital” sits inside “capitales”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 6393, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

capital is recorded at frequency rank #465, classified as anadj, pronounced [kapiˈt̪al]. capitales is at rank #5,928, tagged as anadj, pronounced [kapiˈt̪ales].

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 6393, this pair ranks #310,923 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of capital vs capitales

Shared letters: acilpt. Private to "capital": -. Private to "capitales": es.

"capital" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC  ·  "capitales" · 9 letters · shape CVCVCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • capitalacpital · caiptal · capiatl · capitall · capitla · capittal · cappital · captial
  • capitalesacpitales · caiptales · capiatles · capitaels · capitaless · capitalles · capitalse · capitlaes

Frequency comparison

capital#465
capitales#5,928

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "capital" and "capitales" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([kapiˈt̪al] versus [kapiˈt̪ales]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "capital" or "capitales"?
"capital" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #465 in our Spanish list, against #5,928 for "capitales". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering capital vs capitales

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 “capital” 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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list