chicasvschivosWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: chicas is a adjective, chivos is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“chicas” is an adjective and “chivos” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#1,106
“chicas” frequency rank
#39,112
“chivos” frequency rank
40218
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature chicas chivos
Definition Forma del femenino plural de chico. Forma del plural de chivo.

Where the spellings diverge

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

6 ch
chicas
6 ch
chivos

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: chicas is [ˈt͡ʃikas] while chivos is [ˈt͡ʃiβ̞os]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 40218, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

chicas is recorded at frequency rank #1,106, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈt͡ʃikas]. chivos is at rank #39,112, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈt͡ʃiβ̞os].

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 40218, this pair ranks #160,264 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of chicas vs chivos

Shared letters: chis. Private to "chicas": a. Private to "chivos": ov.

"chicas" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC  ·  "chivos" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • chicascchicas · chcias · chhicas · chiacs · chicass · chiccas · chicsa · cihcas
  • chivoscchivos · chhivos · chibos · chiovs · chivoss · chivso · chivvos · chvios

Frequency comparison

chicas#1,106
chivos#39,112

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "chicas" and "chivos" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "chicas" is an adjective and "chivos" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "chicas" or "chivos"?
"chicas" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,106 in our Spanish list, against #39,112 for "chivos". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering chicas vs chivos

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need an adjective, it's “chicas”; for a noun, it's “chivos”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “chicas” 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