delfínvsdelfinesWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#16,551
“delfín” frequency rank
#15,337
“delfines” frequency rank
31888
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature delfín delfines
Definition (familia Delphinidae) Cualquiera de varias especies de mamíferos marinos del orden de los cetáceos. Miden entre 2 y 9 metros de largo, con el cuerpo fusiforme y la cabeza grande, el hocico alargado y una única narina en la parte superior de la cabeza; la piel es normalmente gris y glabra. Son carnívoros. Se cuentan entre los más inteligentes de los animales, formando complejos sistemas sociales y comunicándose por ultrasonido. Habitan en aguas templadas y tropicales de todo el globo. Forma del plural de delfín.

Where the eye mixes delfín and delfines

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. delfín runs 6 letters (CVCCVC) against delfines's 8 (CVCCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

6 ch
delfín
8 ch
delfines

Visual trap between delfín and delfines

A purely visual mix-up. delfín ([d̪elˈfĩn]) and delfines ([d̪elˈfines]) 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 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 31888, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

delfín is recorded at frequency rank #16,551, classified as anoun, pronounced [d̪elˈfĩn]. delfines is at rank #15,337, tagged as anoun, pronounced [d̪elˈfines].

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 31888, this pair ranks #204,807 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of delfín vs delfines

Shared letters: defln. Private to "delfín": í. Private to "delfines": is.

"delfín" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC  ·  "delfines" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • delfines ← ddelfines · deflines · delffines · delfiens · delfiness · delfinnes · delfinse · delfnies

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "delfín" and "delfines" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([d̪elˈfĩn] versus [d̪elˈfines]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "delfín" vs "delfines" - which ranks higher?
"delfines" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #15,337 in our Spanish list, against #16,551 for "delfín". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "delfín" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "delfines" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #204,807 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "delfín" and "delfines" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "delfín vs deli". 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 #204,807 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