enigmavsenigmasWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#16,324
“enigma” frequency rank
#35,490
“enigmas” frequency rank
51814
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature enigma enigmas
Definition Frase de sentido deliberadamente difícil de interpretar. Forma del plural de enigma.

Where the eye mixes enigma and enigmas

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

6 ch
enigma
7 ch
enigmas

Why the eye confuses enigma with enigmas

A purely visual mix-up. enigma ([eˈniɣ̞ma]) and enigmas ([eˈniɣ̞mas]) 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 extra letter(s) - “enigma” sits inside “enigmas”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 51814, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

enigma is recorded at frequency rank #16,324, classified as anoun, pronounced [eˈniɣ̞ma]. enigmas is at rank #35,490, tagged as anoun, pronounced [eˈniɣ̞mas].

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 51814, this pair ranks #95,899 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of enigma vs enigmas

Shared letters: aegimn. Private to "enigma": -. Private to "enigmas": s.

"enigma" · 6 letters · shape VCVCCV  ·  "enigmas" · 7 letters · shape VCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • enigma ← eingma · engima · enigam · eniggma · enigmma · enimga · ennigma · neigma
  • enigmas ← eingmas · engimas · enigams · eniggmas · enigmass · enigmmas · enigmsa · enimgas

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "enigma" and "enigmas" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([eˈniɣ̞ma] versus [eˈniɣ̞mas]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "enigma" or "enigmas"?
"enigma" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #16,324 in our Spanish list, against #35,490 for "enigmas". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "enigma" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "enigmas" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #95,899 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "enigma" and "enigmas" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "enigmas vs estigmas". 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 #95,899 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