Which to use
“ebrio” is an adjective and “erizo” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #17,415
- “ebrio” frequency rank
- #37,593
- “erizo” frequency rank
- 55008
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | ebrio | erizo |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Que se encuentra bajo los efectos del alcohol. | (subfamilia Erinaceinae) Pequeño mamífero cubiertos de púas; pertenece al orden Erinaceomorpha que habitan Europa, Asia, África y han sido introducidos en Nueva Zelanda. |
Where the eye mixes ebrio and erizo
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. ebrio (VCCVV) and erizo (VCVCV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Why the eye confuses ebrio with erizo
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: ebrio is [ˈeβ̞ɾjo] while erizo is [eˈɾiso]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 3 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 55008, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
ebrio is recorded at frequency rank #17,415, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈeβ̞ɾjo]. erizo is at rank #37,593, tagged as anoun, pronounced [eˈɾiso].
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 55008, this pair ranks #80,807 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of ebrio vs erizo
Shared letters: eior. Private to "ebrio": b. Private to "erizo": z.
"ebrio" · 5 letters · shape VCCVV · "erizo" · 5 letters · shape VCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "ebrio" for "erizo" ever safe?
In ordinary Spanish text, does "ebrio" or "erizo" show up more?
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 "ebrio" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "erizo" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #80,807 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "ebrio" and "erizo" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "edito vs erizo". 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 #80,807 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.