enfermavsenteraConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#4,994
“enferma” frequency rank
#2,930
“entera” frequency rank
7924
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature enferma entera
Definition Forma del femenino singular de enfermo. Forma del femenino singular de entero.

Where the eye mixes enferma and entera

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. enferma runs 7 letters (VCCVCCV) against entera's 6 (VCCVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

7 ch
enferma
6 ch
entera

Why the eye confuses enferma with entera

A purely visual mix-up. enferma ([ẽɱˈfeɾma]) and entera ([ẽn̪ˈt̪eɾa]) 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 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 7924, 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]. entera is at rank #2,930, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ẽn̪ˈt̪eɾa].

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 7924, this pair ranks #306,517 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of enferma vs entera

Shared letters: aenr. Private to "enferma": fm. Private to "entera": t.

"enferma" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCCV  ·  "entera" · 6 letters · shape VCCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • enfermaefnerma · enefrma · enfemra · enferam · enfermma · enferrma · enfferma · enfrema
  • enteraenetra · enntera · entear · enterra · entrea · enttera · etnera · netera

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "enferma" for "entera" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ẽɱˈfeɾma] versus [ẽn̪ˈt̪eɾa]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary Spanish text, does "enferma" or "entera" show up more?
"entera" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,930 in our Spanish list, against #4,994 for "enferma". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

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 "entera" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #306,517 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "enferma" and "entera" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "entera vs enteraba". 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 #306,517 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list