encajevsenlaceWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#14,585
“encaje” frequency rank
#2,341
“enlace” frequency rank
16926
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature encaje enlace
Definition Acción o efecto de encajar. Acción y efecto de enlazar o enlazarse.

Where the spellings diverge

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

6 ch
encaje
6 ch
enlace

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. encaje ([ẽŋˈkaxe]) and enlace ([ẽnˈlase]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 16926, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

encaje is recorded at frequency rank #14,585, classified as anoun, pronounced [ẽŋˈkaxe]. enlace is at rank #2,341, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ẽnˈlase].

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 16926, this pair ranks #274,224 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of encaje vs enlace

Shared letters: acen. Private to "encaje": j. Private to "enlace": l.

"encaje" · 6 letters · shape VCCVCV  ·  "enlace" · 6 letters · shape VCCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • encajeecnaje · enacje · encaej · encajje · enccaje · encjae · enncaje · necaje
  • enlaceelnace · enalce · enlacce · enlaec · enlase · enlcae · enllace · ennlace

Frequency comparison

encaje#14,585
enlace#2,341

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "encaje" and "enlace" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ẽŋˈkaxe] versus [ẽnˈlase]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "encaje" or "enlace"?
"enlace" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,341 in our Spanish list, against #14,585 for "encaje". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering encaje vs enlace

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “encaje” 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