colateralvscolateralesWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#22,986
“colateral” frequency rank
#20,310
“colaterales” frequency rank
43296
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature colateral colaterales
Definition Dícese de las cosas que están a uno y otro lado de otra principal. Aplícase comúnmente a las naves y altares de los templos, que están en esta situación. Forma del plural de colateral.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set colateral and colaterales apart are highlighted. They share 9 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

9 ch
colateral
11 ch
colaterales

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. colateral ([kolat̪eˈɾal]) and colaterales ([kolat̪eˈɾales]) 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) - “colateral” sits inside “colaterales”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 43296, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

colateral is recorded at frequency rank #22,986, classified as anadj, pronounced [kolat̪eˈɾal]. colaterales is at rank #20,310, tagged as anadj, pronounced [kolat̪eˈɾales].

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 43296, this pair ranks #143,462 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of colateral vs colaterales

Shared letters: acelort. Private to "colateral": -. Private to "colaterales": s.

"colateral" · 9 letters · shape CVCVCVCVC  ·  "colaterales" · 11 letters · shape CVCVCVCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • colateralccolateral · cloateral · coalteral · colaetral · colatearl · colaterall · colaterla · colaterral
  • colateralesccolaterales · cloaterales · coalterales · colaetrales · colatearles · colateraels · colateraless · colateralles

Frequency comparison

colateral#22,986
colaterales#20,310

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "colateral" and "colaterales" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([kolat̪eˈɾal] versus [kolat̪eˈɾales]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "colateral" or "colaterales"?
"colaterales" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #20,310 in our Spanish list, against #22,986 for "colateral". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering colateral vs colaterales

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 “colateral” 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