dolenciavsdolenciasWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#31,752
“dolencia” frequency rank
#31,753
“dolencias” frequency rank
63505
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature dolencia dolencias
Definition Indisposición, achaque, enfermedad. Forma del plural de dolencia

Where the eye mixes dolencia and dolencias

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. dolencia runs 8 letters (CVCVCCVV) against dolencias's 9 (CVCVCCVVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

8 ch
dolencia
9 ch
dolencias

Look-alike desk: dolencia vs dolencias

A purely visual mix-up. dolencia ([d̪oˈlẽnsja]) and dolencias ([d̪oˈlẽnsjas]) 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 extra letter(s) - “dolencia” sits inside “dolencias”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 63505, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

dolencia is recorded at frequency rank #31,752, classified as anoun, pronounced [d̪oˈlẽnsja]. dolencias is at rank #31,753, tagged as anoun, pronounced [d̪oˈlẽnsjas].

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 63505, this pair ranks #48,530 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of dolencia vs dolencias

Shared letters: acdeilno. Private to "dolencia": -. Private to "dolencias": s.

"dolencia" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVV  ·  "dolencias" · 9 letters · shape CVCVCCVVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • dolencia ← ddolencia · dloencia · doelncia · dolecnia · dolencai · dolenccia · dolenica · dolenncia
  • dolencias ← ddolencias · dloencias · doelncias · dolecnias · dolencais · dolenccias · dolenciass · dolencisa

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "dolencia" and "dolencias" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([d̪oˈlẽnsja] versus [d̪oˈlẽnsjas]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "dolencia" or "dolencias"?
"dolencia" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #31,752 in our Spanish list, against #31,753 for "dolencias". 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 "dolencia" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "dolencias" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #48,530 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "dolencia" and "dolencias" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "demencia vs dolencia". 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 #48,530 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