esesvshecesWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#45,307
“eses” frequency rank
#19,129
“heces” frequency rank
64436
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature eses heces
Definition Forma del plural de ese₁ (la letra). Desecho maloliente de la comida ingerida, que se expulsa por vía anal.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set eses and heces apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

4 ch
eses
5 ch
heces

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

This is the hard kind. eses and heces are pronounced identically ([ˈeses]) and both work as anoun. Neither the ear nor the grammar will rescue you; only the meaning does, so the glosses below are the whole decision. They differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 64436, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

eses is recorded at frequency rank #45,307, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈeses]. heces is at rank #19,129, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈeses].

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 64436, this pair ranks #45,603 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of eses vs heces

Shared letters: es. Private to "eses": -. Private to "heces": ch.

"eses" · 4 letters · shape VCVC  ·  "heces" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • eseseces · eess · esess · esse · esses · sees
  • hecesehces · hcees · hecces · hecess · hecse · heecs · heses · hheces

Frequency comparison

eses#45,307
heces#19,129

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "eses" and "heces" be used interchangeably?
No. They are pronounced the same ([ˈeses]), which is exactly why they get swapped in writing, but the dictionary meanings above are different, and pronunciation is no guide here.
Which is more common, "eses" or "heces"?
"heces" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #19,129 in our Spanish list, against #45,307 for "eses". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering eses vs heces

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “eses” 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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list