emigravsenigmaWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: emigra is a verb, enigma is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“emigra” is a verb and “enigma” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#45,285
“emigra” frequency rank
#16,324
“enigma” frequency rank
61609
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature emigra enigma
Definition Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de emigrar. Frase de sentido deliberadamente difícil de interpretar.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set emigra and enigma apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
emigra
6 ch
enigma

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: emigra is [eˈmiɣ̞ɾa] while enigma is [eˈniɣ̞ma]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 61609, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

emigra is recorded at frequency rank #45,285, classified as averb, pronounced [eˈmiɣ̞ɾa]. enigma is at rank #16,324, tagged as anoun, pronounced [eˈniɣ̞ma].

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 61609, this pair ranks #54,860 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of emigra vs enigma

Shared letters: aegim. Private to "emigra": r. Private to "enigma": n.

"emigra" · 6 letters · shape VCVCCV  ·  "enigma" · 6 letters · shape VCVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • emigraeimgra · emgira · emigar · emiggra · emirga · emmigra · meigra
  • enigmaeingma · engima · enigam · eniggma · enigmma · enimga · ennigma · neigma

Frequency comparison

emigra#45,285
enigma#16,324

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "emigra" and "enigma" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "emigra" is a verb and "enigma" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "emigra" or "enigma"?
"enigma" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #16,324 in our Spanish list, against #45,285 for "emigra". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering emigra vs enigma

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “emigra”; for a noun, it's “enigma”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “emigra” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list