Which to use
“enferma” and “enfermo” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #4,994
- “enferma” frequency rank
- #3,117
- “enfermo” frequency rank
- 8111
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | enferma | enfermo |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Forma del femenino singular de enfermo. | Afectado por algún tipo de quebranto de salud. |
Where the eye mixes enferma and enfermo
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. enferma and enfermo follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (VCCVCCV). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Visual trap between enferma and enfermo
A purely visual mix-up. enferma ([ẽɱˈfeɾma]) and enfermo ([ẽɱˈfeɾmo]) 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 a single letter - a in “enferma” becomes o in “enfermo”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 8111, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
enferma is recorded at frequency rank #4,994, classified as anadj, pronounced [ẽɱˈfeɾma]. enfermo is at rank #3,117, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ẽɱˈfeɾmo].
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 8111, this pair ranks #305,970 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of enferma vs enfermo
Shared letters: efmnr. Private to "enferma": a. Private to "enfermo": o.
"enferma" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCCV · "enfermo" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "enferma" and "enfermo" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary Spanish text, does "enferma" or "enfermo" show up more?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "enferma" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "enfermo" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #305,970 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "enferma" and "enfermo" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "enferma vs enferman". 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 #305,970 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.