épicovsétnicoWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#15,520
“épico” frequency rank
#14,742
“étnico” frequency rank
30262
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature épico étnico
Definition Perteneciente o relativo a la epopeya (poema narrativo sobre sucesos heroicos y legendarios) o a la poesía heroica. Propio o relacionado con la raza o con grupos de personas que comparten una cultura, una lengua, una región, una religión, etc.

Where the eye mixes épico and étnico

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. épico runs 5 letters (VCVCV) against étnico's 6 (VCCVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

5 ch
épico
6 ch
étnico

Visual trap between épico and étnico

A purely visual mix-up. épico ([ˈepiko]) and étnico ([ˈet̪niko]) 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 30262, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

épico is recorded at frequency rank #15,520, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈepiko]. étnico is at rank #14,742, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈet̪niko].

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 30262, this pair ranks #212,850 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of épico vs étnico

Shared letters: cioé. Private to "épico": p. Private to "étnico": nt.

"épico" · 5 letters · shape VCVCV  ·  "étnico" · 6 letters · shape VCCVCV

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "épico" for "étnico" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈepiko] versus [ˈet̪niko]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "épico" or "étnico"?
"étnico" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #14,742 in our Spanish list, against #15,520 for "épico". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

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 "épico" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "étnico" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #212,850 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "épico" and "étnico" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "etílico vs étnico". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #212,850 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