elefantevselefantesTell them apart

Which to use

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

#9,633
“elefante” frequency rank
#13,028
“elefantes” frequency rank
22661
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature elefante elefantes
Definition (Familia Elephantidae) Cualquiera de tres especies de animales mamíferos de enorme tamaño que habitan las sabanas y selvas de África y el sur de Asia. Son herbívoros muy corpulentos, de gran altura y cuerpo robusto, cubierto de una gruesa piel de color grisáceo; presentan una característica prolongación de la nariz y el labio superior denominada probóscide o trompa, que usan como extremidad prénsil, y colmillos muy prolongados. Son gregarios y sumamente inteligentes. Pueden alcanzar las 6 toneladas de peso. El periodo de gestación de sus crías alcanza los 3 años. Forma del plural de elefante.

Where the eye mixes elefante and elefantes

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

8 ch
elefante
9 ch
elefantes

Look-alike desk: elefante vs elefantes

A purely visual mix-up. elefante ([eleˈfãn̪t̪e]) and elefantes ([eleˈfãn̪t̪es]) 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) - “elefante” sits inside “elefantes”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 22661, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

elefante is recorded at frequency rank #9,633, classified as anoun, pronounced [eleˈfãn̪t̪e]. elefantes is at rank #13,028, tagged as anoun, pronounced [eleˈfãn̪t̪es].

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 22661, this pair ranks #249,304 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of elefante vs elefantes

Shared letters: aeflnt. Private to "elefante": -. Private to "elefantes": s.

"elefante" · 8 letters · shape VCVCVCCV  ·  "elefantes" · 9 letters · shape VCVCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • elefante ← eelfante · eleafnte · elefanet · elefannte · elefantte · elefatne · eleffante · elefnate
  • elefantes ← eelfantes · eleafntes · elefanets · elefanntes · elefantess · elefantse · elefanttes · elefatnes

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "elefante" and "elefantes" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([eleˈfãn̪t̪e] versus [eleˈfãn̪t̪es]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary Spanish text, does "elefante" or "elefantes" show up more?
"elefante" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #9,633 in our Spanish list, against #13,028 for "elefantes". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "elefante" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "elefantes" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #249,304 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "elefante" and "elefantes" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "elefantes vs elegantes". 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 #249,304 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