derechavsderechosWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#986
“derecha” frequency rank
#399
“derechos” frequency rank
1385
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature derecha derechos
Definition En el cuerpo humano, mano del lado opuesto al corazón. Forma del plural de derecho.

Where the eye mixes derecha and derechos

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. derecha runs 7 letters (CVCVCCV) against derechos's 8 (CVCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

7 ch
derecha
8 ch
derechos

Why the eye confuses derecha with derechos

A purely visual mix-up. derecha ([d̪eˈɾet͡ʃa]) and derechos ([d̪eˈɾet͡ʃos]) 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 1385, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

derecha is recorded at frequency rank #986, classified as anoun, pronounced [d̪eˈɾet͡ʃa]. derechos is at rank #399, tagged as anoun, pronounced [d̪eˈɾet͡ʃos].

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 1385, this pair ranks #322,141 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of derecha vs derechos

Shared letters: cdehr. Private to "derecha": a. Private to "derechos": os.

"derecha" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCCV  ·  "derechos" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • derecha ← dderecha · deercha · derceha · derecah · dereccha · derechha · derehca · derrecha
  • derechos ← dderechos · deerchos · dercehos · derecchos · derechhos · derechoss · derechso · derecohs

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "derecha" for "derechos" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([d̪eˈɾet͡ʃa] versus [d̪eˈɾet͡ʃos]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "derecha" or "derechos"?
"derechos" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #399 in our Spanish list, against #986 for "derecha". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "derecha" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "derechos" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #322,141 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "derecha" and "derechos" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "derecha vs desecha". 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 #322,141 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