Which to use
“defensas” and “despensas” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #10,651
- “defensas” frequency rank
- #46,488
- “despensas” frequency rank
- 57139
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | defensas | despensas |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Forma del plural de defensa. | Expensas. |
Where the eye mixes defensas and despensas
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. defensas runs 8 letters (CVCVCCVC) against despensas's 9 (CVCCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses defensas with despensas
A purely visual mix-up. defensas ([d̪eˈfẽnsas]) and despensas ([d̪esˈpẽnsas]) 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 57139, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
defensas is recorded at frequency rank #10,651, classified as anoun, pronounced [d̪eˈfẽnsas]. despensas is at rank #46,488, tagged as anoun, pronounced [d̪esˈpẽnsas].
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 57139, this pair ranks #71,683 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of defensas vs despensas
Shared letters: adens. Private to "defensas": f. Private to "despensas": p.
"defensas" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVC · "despensas" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "defensas" and "despensas" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary Spanish text, does "defensas" or "despensas" show up more?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "defensas" and "despensas" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "defensas" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "despensas" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #71,683 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "defensas" and "despensas" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "despensas vs dispensa". 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 #71,683 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.