capitánvscapitanesWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#1,540
“capitán” frequency rank
#15,795
“capitanes” frequency rank
17335
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature capitán capitanes
Definition Persona que dirige una tropa militar Forma del plural de capitán.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set capitán and capitanes apart are highlighted. They share 6 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

7 ch
capitán
9 ch
capitanes

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. capitán ([kapiˈt̪ãn]) and capitanes ([kapiˈt̪anes]) 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 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 17335, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

capitán is recorded at frequency rank #1,540, classified as anoun, pronounced [kapiˈt̪ãn]. capitanes is at rank #15,795, tagged as anoun, pronounced [kapiˈt̪anes].

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 17335, this pair ranks #272,587 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of capitán vs capitanes

Shared letters: acinpt. Private to "capitán": á. Private to "capitanes": es.

"capitán" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC  ·  "capitanes" · 9 letters · shape CVCVCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • capitanesacpitanes · caiptanes · capiatnes · capitaens · capitaness · capitannes · capitanse · capitnaes

Frequency comparison

capitán#1,540
capitanes#15,795

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "capitán" and "capitanes" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([kapiˈt̪ãn] versus [kapiˈt̪anes]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "capitán" or "capitanes"?
"capitán" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,540 in our Spanish list, against #15,795 for "capitanes". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering capitán vs capitanes

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 “capitán” 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