espátulavsestatuaConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#49,629
“espátula” frequency rank
#5,831
“estatua” frequency rank
55460
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature espátula estatua
Definition Instrumento en forma de pala pequeña, afilada y flexible, con mango largo. Se ocupa para hacer mezclas en sustancias semilíquidas. Escultura labrada a imitación del natural, pero habitualmente de tamaño algo mayor, apropiada para colocar en sitios públicos.

Where the eye mixes espátula and estatua

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. espátula runs 8 letters (VCCVCVCV) against estatua's 7 (VCCVCVV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

8 ch
espátula
7 ch
estatua

Why the eye confuses espátula with estatua

A purely visual mix-up. espátula ([esˈpat̪ula]) and estatua ([esˈt̪at̪wa]) 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 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 55460, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

espátula is recorded at frequency rank #49,629, classified as anoun, pronounced [esˈpat̪ula]. estatua is at rank #5,831, tagged as anoun, pronounced [esˈt̪at̪wa].

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 55460, this pair ranks #78,783 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of espátula vs estatua

Shared letters: aestu. Private to "espátula": lpá. Private to "estatua": -.

"espátula" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCVCV  ·  "estatua" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCVV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • estatua ← esattua · esstatua · estatau · estattua · estauta · esttatua · esttaua · etsatua

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "espátula" for "estatua" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([esˈpat̪ula] versus [esˈt̪at̪wa]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "espátula" vs "estatua" - which ranks higher?
"estatua" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #5,831 in our Spanish list, against #49,629 for "espátula". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Eye-level mix-up between "espátula" and "estatua" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "espátula" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "estatua" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #78,783 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "espátula" and "estatua" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "espátula vs especula". 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 #78,783 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list