Which to use
“enfermar” and “enfriar” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #27,589
- “enfermar” frequency rank
- #24,140
- “enfriar” frequency rank
- 51729
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | enfermar | enfriar |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Producir o causar enfermedad. | Poner o hacer que se ponga fría una cosa. |
Where the eye mixes enfermar and enfriar
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. enfermar runs 8 letters (VCCVCCVC) against enfriar's 7 (VCCCVVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses enfermar with enfriar
A purely visual mix-up. enfermar ([ẽɱfeɾˈmaɾ]) and enfriar ([ẽɱˈfɾjaɾ]) 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 51729, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
enfermar is recorded at frequency rank #27,589, classified as averb, pronounced [ẽɱfeɾˈmaɾ]. enfriar is at rank #24,140, tagged as averb, pronounced [ẽɱˈfɾjaɾ].
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 51729, this pair ranks #96,363 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of enfermar vs enfriar
Shared letters: aefnr. Private to "enfermar": m. Private to "enfriar": i.
"enfermar" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCCVC · "enfriar" · 7 letters · shape VCCCVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "enfermar" and "enfriar" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "enfermar" vs "enfriar" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "enfermar" and "enfriar" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "enfermar" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "enfriar" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #96,363 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "enfermar" and "enfriar" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "enfermar vs enfermarse". 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 #96,363 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.