Which to use
“cosquillas” and “costillas” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #19,678
- “cosquillas” frequency rank
- #13,427
- “costillas” frequency rank
- 33105
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | cosquillas | costillas |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Sensación placentera —si es breve—, percibida en algunas áreas del cuerpo mediante tocamientos ligeros. Paradójicamente, consiste en una conmoción desagradable que suele provocar risa involuntaria. Aplicada en exceso se convierte en tortura. | Forma del plural de costilla. |
Where the eye mixes cosquillas and costillas
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. cosquillas runs 10 letters (CVCCVVCCVC) against costillas's 9 (CVCCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses cosquillas with costillas
A purely visual mix-up. cosquillas ([kosˈkiʝas]) and costillas ([kosˈt̪iʝas]) 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 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 33105, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
cosquillas is recorded at frequency rank #19,678, classified as anoun, pronounced [kosˈkiʝas]. costillas is at rank #13,427, tagged as anoun, pronounced [kosˈt̪iʝas].
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 33105, this pair ranks #198,559 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of cosquillas vs costillas
Shared letters: acilos. Private to "cosquillas": qu. Private to "costillas": t.
"cosquillas" · 10 letters · shape CVCCVVCCVC · "costillas" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- cosquillas ← ccosquillas · coqsuillas · cosqiullas · cosqquillas · cosquilals · cosquilas · cosquillass · cosquillsa
- costillas ← ccostillas · cositllas · cosstillas · costilals · costilas · costillass · costillsa · costlilas
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "cosquillas" for "costillas" ever safe?
Frequency check: "cosquillas" vs "costillas" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "cosquillas" and "costillas" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "cosquillas" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "costillas" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #198,559 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "cosquillas" and "costillas" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "casquillos vs cosquillas". Nearby pair
- Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes
Confusion rank #198,559 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.