escalavsescojaWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: escala is a noun, escoja is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“escala” is a noun and “escoja” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#1,983
“escala” frequency rank
#29,203
“escoja” frequency rank
31186
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature escala escoja
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. Primera persona del singular (yo) del presente de subjuntivo de escoger.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set escala and escoja apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
escala
6 ch
escoja

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: escala is [esˈkala] while escoja is [esˈkoxa]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 31186, 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]. escoja is at rank #29,203, tagged as averb, pronounced [esˈkoxa].

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 31186, this pair ranks #208,331 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of escala vs escoja

Shared letters: aces. Private to "escala": l. Private to "escoja": jo.

"escala" · 6 letters · shape VCCVCV  ·  "escoja" · 6 letters · shape VCCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • escalaecsala · esacla · escaal · escalla · esccala · esclaa · esscala · secala
  • escojaecsoja · esccoja · escjoa · escoaj · escojja · esocja · esscoja · secoja

Frequency comparison

escala#1,983
escoja#29,203

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "escala" and "escoja" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "escala" is a noun and "escoja" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "escala" or "escoja"?
"escala" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,983 in our Spanish list, against #29,203 for "escoja". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering escala vs escoja

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “escala”; for a verb, it's “escoja”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “escala” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list