Which to use
“empanada” is a noun and “empanadas” is a participle - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #21,313
- “empanada” frequency rank
- #18,524
- “empanadas” frequency rank
- 39837
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | empanada | empanadas |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Manjar formado por una delgada masa de harina, plegada sobre sí misma encerrando un relleno de carne, huevo, marisco, fruta, etc. | Forma del femenino plural de empanado, participio de empanar o de empanarse. |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set empanada and empanadas apart are highlighted. They share 8 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
empanada and empanadas form a confusable pair in the Spanish index, two distinct headwords that are easily confused because they look alike, sound alike, or both. They differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “empanada” sits inside “empanadas” - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 39837, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
empanada is recorded at frequency rank #21,313, classified as anoun, pronounced [ẽmpaˈnað̞a]. empanadas is at rank #18,524, tagged as aparticiple, pronounced [ẽmpaˈnað̞as].
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 39837, this pair ranks #162,395 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "empanada" and "empanadas" be used interchangeably?
Remembering empanada vs empanadas
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “empanada”; for a participle, it's “empanadas”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “empanada” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable