Which to use
“espadas” and “espinas” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #10,497
- “espadas” frequency rank
- #11,403
- “espinas” frequency rank
- 21900
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | espadas | espinas |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | En el juego de naipes con baraja española, nombre del palo que contiene representaciones de espadas. | Forma del plural de espina₁. |
Where the eye mixes espadas and espinas
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: espadas vs espinas
A purely visual mix-up. espadas ([esˈpað̞as]) and espinas ([esˈpinas]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 21900, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
espadas is recorded at frequency rank #10,497, classified as anoun, pronounced [esˈpað̞as]. espinas is at rank #11,403, tagged as anoun, pronounced [esˈpinas].
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 21900, this pair ranks #252,836 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of espadas vs espinas
Shared letters: aeps. Private to "espadas": d. Private to "espinas": in.
"espadas" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCVC · "espinas" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "espadas" and "espinas" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "espadas" vs "espinas" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "espadas" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "espinas" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #252,836 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "espadas" and "espinas" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "espinaca vs espinas". 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 #252,836 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.