célula vs células, What's the Difference?

Which to use

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

#10,479
“célula” frequency rank: #3,834
“células” frequency rank: 14313
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	célula	células
Definition	Celda pequeña.	Forma del plural de célula.

Where the spellings diverge

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

6 ch

célula

7 ch

células

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. célula ([ˈselula]) and células ([ˈselulas]) 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) - “célula” sits inside “células”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 14313, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

célula is recorded at frequency rank #10,479, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈselula]. células is at rank #3,834, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈselulas].

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 14313, this pair ranks #284,589 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of célula vs células

Shared letters: aclué. Private to "célula": -. Private to "células": s.

"célula" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV · "células" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC

Frequency comparison

célula#10,479

células#3,834

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "célula" and "células" be used interchangeably?

No. They are said differently ([ˈselula] versus [ˈselulas]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.

Which is more common, "célula" or "células"?

"células" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,834 in our Spanish list, against #10,479 for "célula". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering célula vs células

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 “célula” entry
Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable