dulcevsdulcesConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#1,674
“dulce” frequency rank
#4,156
“dulces” frequency rank
5830
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature dulce dulces
Definition Que causa sensación agradable al paladar. Se obtiene por medio del azúcar u otros agentes endulzantes como aspartame, sucralosa, ciclamato, stevia, etc. Forma del plural de dulce.

Where the eye mixes dulce and dulces

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.

5 ch
dulce
6 ch
dulces

Why the eye confuses dulce with dulces

A purely visual mix-up. dulce ([ˈd̪ulse]) and dulces ([ˈd̪ulses]) 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) - “dulce” sits inside “dulces”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 5830, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

dulce is recorded at frequency rank #1,674, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈd̪ulse]. dulces is at rank #4,156, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈd̪ulses].

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 5830, this pair ranks #312,543 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of dulce vs dulces

Shared letters: cdelu. Private to "dulce": -. Private to "dulces": s.

"dulce" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV  ·  "dulces" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • dulceddulce · dluce · ducle · dulcce · dulec · dullce · dulse · udlce
  • dulcesddulces · dluces · ducles · dulcces · dulcess · dulcse · dulecs · dullces

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "dulce" and "dulces" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈd̪ulse] versus [ˈd̪ulses]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "dulce" or "dulces"?
"dulce" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,674 in our Spanish list, against #4,156 for "dulces". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Eye-level mix-up between "dulce" and "dulces" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "dulce" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "dulces" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #312,543 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "dulce" and "dulces" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "dulce vs Dutch". 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 #312,543 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