españolavsespañolasWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#965
“española” frequency rank
#4,243
“españolas” frequency rank
5208
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature española españolas
Definition Forma del femenino singular de español. Forma del femenino plural de español.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set española and españolas apart are highlighted. They share 8 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

8 ch
española
9 ch
españolas

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. española ([espaˈɲola]) and españolas ([espaˈɲolas]) 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 extra letter(s) - “española” sits inside “españolas”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 5208, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

española is recorded at frequency rank #965, classified as anadj, pronounced [espaˈɲola]. españolas is at rank #4,243, tagged as anadj, pronounced [espaˈɲolas].

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 5208, this pair ranks #314,222 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of española vs españolas

Shared letters: aelopsñ. Private to "española": -. Private to "españolas": -.

"española" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCVCV  ·  "españolas" · 9 letters · shape VCCVCVCVC

Frequency comparison

española#965
españolas#4,243

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "española" and "españolas" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([espaˈɲola] versus [espaˈɲolas]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "española" or "españolas"?
"española" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #965 in our Spanish list, against #4,243 for "españolas". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering española vs españolas

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 “española” 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