Which to use
“enclave” is a noun and “enclaves” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #20,669
- “enclave” frequency rank
- #30,887
- “enclaves” frequency rank
- 51556
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | enclave | enclaves |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Territorio incluido en otro de mayor extensión con características diferentes: políticas, administrativas, geográficas, etc. | Segunda persona del singular (tú) del presente de subjuntivo de enclavar. |
Where the eye mixes enclave and enclaves
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. enclave runs 7 letters (VCCCVCV) against enclaves's 8 (VCCCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between enclave and enclaves
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: enclave is [ẽŋˈklaβ̞e] while enclaves is [ẽŋˈklaβ̞es]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “enclave” sits inside “enclaves”, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 51556, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
enclave is recorded at frequency rank #20,669, classified as anoun, pronounced [ẽŋˈklaβ̞e]. enclaves is at rank #30,887, tagged as averb, pronounced [ẽŋˈklaβ̞es].
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 51556, this pair ranks #97,293 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of enclave vs enclaves
Shared letters: acelnv. Private to "enclave": -. Private to "enclaves": s.
"enclave" · 7 letters · shape VCCCVCV · "enclaves" · 8 letters · shape VCCCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "enclave" for "enclaves" ever safe?
Which is more common, "enclave" or "enclaves"?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "enclave" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "enclaves" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #97,293 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "enclave" and "enclaves" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "encajes vs enclaves". 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 #97,293 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.