clínicavsclínicasConfusable pair

Quick tell: clínica is a noun, clínicas is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

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

#4,142
“clínica” frequency rank
#10,114
“clínicas” frequency rank
14256
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature clínica clínicas
Definition Parte de la medicina que enseña a observar y curar las enfermedades a la cabecera de los enfermos. Forma del femenino plural de clínico.

Where the eye mixes clínica and clínicas

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. clínica runs 7 letters (CCVCVCV) against clínicas's 8 (CCVCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

7 ch
clínica
8 ch
clínicas

Why the eye confuses clínica with clínicas

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: clínica is [ˈklinika] while clínicas is [ˈklinikas]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “clínica” sits inside “clínicas”, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 14256, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

clínica is recorded at frequency rank #4,142, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈklinika]. clínicas is at rank #10,114, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈklinikas].

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 14256, this pair ranks #284,823 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of clínica vs clínicas

Shared letters: acilní. Private to "clínica": -. Private to "clínicas": s.

"clínica" · 7 letters · shape CCVCVCV  ·  "clínicas" · 8 letters · shape CCVCVCVC

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "clínica" and "clínicas" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "clínica" is a noun and "clínicas" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "clínica" or "clínicas"?
"clínica" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #4,142 in our Spanish list, against #10,114 for "clínicas". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "clínica" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "clínicas" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #284,823 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "clínica" and "clínicas" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "clinical vs clínicas". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #284,823 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list