Which to use
“escala” and “esclava” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #1,983
- “escala” frequency rank
- #14,356
- “esclava” frequency rank
- 16339
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | escala | esclava |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Escalera de mano; utensilio que se compone de dos listones gruesos de madera, en que están encajonados trasversalmente y a iguales distancias otros más cortos. Puede ser también de cuerda o de madera y cuerda. | Pulsera sin adornos, que no se puede quitar. |
Where the eye mixes escala and esclava
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. escala runs 6 letters (VCCVCV) against esclava's 7 (VCCCVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: escala vs esclava
A purely visual mix-up. escala ([esˈkala]) and esclava ([esˈklaβ̞a]) 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 16339, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
escala is recorded at frequency rank #1,983, classified as anoun, pronounced [esˈkala]. esclava is at rank #14,356, tagged as anoun, pronounced [esˈklaβ̞a].
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 16339, this pair ranks #276,569 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of escala vs esclava
Shared letters: acels. Private to "escala": -. Private to "esclava": v.
"escala" · 6 letters · shape VCCVCV · "esclava" · 7 letters · shape VCCCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "escala" for "esclava" ever safe?
Frequency check: "escala" vs "esclava" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "escala" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "esclava" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #276,569 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "escala" and "esclava" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "esclava vs Eslava". 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 #276,569 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.