Which to use
“cárcel” and “cárceles” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #1,503
- “cárcel” frequency rank
- #9,437
- “cárceles” frequency rank
- 10940
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | cárcel | cárceles |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Establecimiento destinado al alojamiento de los penados a privación de libertad | Forma del plural de cárcel. |
Where the eye mixes cárcel and cárceles
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. cárcel runs 6 letters (CVCCVC) against cárceles's 8 (CVCCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between cárcel and cárceles
A purely visual mix-up. cárcel ([ˈkaɾsel]) and cárceles ([ˈkaɾseles]) 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) - “cárcel” sits inside “cárceles”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 10940, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
cárcel is recorded at frequency rank #1,503, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈkaɾsel]. cárceles is at rank #9,437, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈkaɾseles].
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 10940, this pair ranks #296,817 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of cárcel vs cárceles
Shared letters: celrá. Private to "cárcel": -. Private to "cárceles": s.
"cárcel" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "cárceles" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "cárcel" for "cárceles" ever safe?
Frequency check: "cárcel" vs "cárceles" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "cárcel" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "cárceles" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #296,817 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "cárcel" and "cárceles" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "carcelero vs cárceles". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #296,817 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.