Which to use
“espantosa” and “espantosas” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #20,675
- “espantosa” frequency rank
- #35,028
- “espantosas” frequency rank
- 55703
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | espantosa | espantosas |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Forma del femenino de espantoso. | Forma del femenino plural de espantoso. |
Where the eye mixes espantosa and espantosas
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 9 letters in sequence. espantosa runs 9 letters (VCCVCCVCV) against espantosas's 10 (VCCVCCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses espantosa with espantosas
A purely visual mix-up. espantosa ([espãn̪ˈt̪osa]) and espantosas ([espãn̪ˈt̪osas]) 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) - “espantosa” sits inside “espantosas”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 55703, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
espantosa is recorded at frequency rank #20,675, classified as anadj, pronounced [espãn̪ˈt̪osa]. espantosas is at rank #35,028, tagged as anadj, pronounced [espãn̪ˈt̪osas].
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 55703, this pair ranks #77,744 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of espantosa vs espantosas
Shared letters: aenopst. Private to "espantosa": -. Private to "espantosas": -.
"espantosa" · 9 letters · shape VCCVCCVCV · "espantosas" · 10 letters · shape VCCVCCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- espantosa ← epsantosa · esapntosa · espanntosa · espanotsa · espantoas · espantossa · espantsoa · espanttosa
- espantosas ← epsantosas · esapntosas · espanntosas · espanotsas · espantoass · espantosass · espantossas · espantsoas
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "espantosa" for "espantosas" ever safe?
In ordinary Spanish text, does "espantosa" or "espantosas" show up more?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "espantosa" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "espantosas" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #77,744 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "espantosa" and "espantosas" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "espantosas vs espantosos". 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 #77,744 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.