Which to use
“defensa” and “defense” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #763
- “defensa” frequency rank
- #34,976
- “defense” frequency rank
- 35739
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | defensa | defense |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Acción o efecto de proteger algo contra una ofensiva o daño. | Defensa. |
Where the eye mixes defensa and defense
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. defensa and defense follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCVCCV). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Why the eye confuses defensa with defense
A purely visual mix-up. defensa ([d̪eˈfẽnsa]) and defense (/dɪˈfɛns/) 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 a single letter - a in “defensa” becomes e in “defense”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 35739, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
defensa is recorded at frequency rank #763, classified as anoun, pronounced [d̪eˈfẽnsa]. defense is at rank #34,976, tagged as anoun, pronounced /dɪˈfɛns/.
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 35739, this pair ranks #184,439 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of defensa vs defense
Shared letters: defns. Private to "defensa": a. Private to "defense": -.
"defensa" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCCV · "defense" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "defensa" and "defense" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "defensa" or "defense"?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "defensa" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "defense" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #184,439 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "defensa" and "defense" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "defense vs déjense". 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 #184,439 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.