Which to use
“espera” and “espina” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #785
- “espera” frequency rank
- #12,377
- “espina” frequency rank
- 13162
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | espera | espina |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Acción o efecto de esperar. | Parte de una hoja, rama o tallo vegetal que se desarrolla alargada con terminación en punta. |
Where the eye mixes espera and espina
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between espera and espina
A purely visual mix-up. espera ([esˈpeɾa]) and espina ([esˈpina]) 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 13162, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
espera is recorded at frequency rank #785, classified as anoun, pronounced [esˈpeɾa]. espina is at rank #12,377, tagged as anoun, pronounced [esˈpina].
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 13162, this pair ranks #288,894 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of espera vs espina
Shared letters: aeps. Private to "espera": r. Private to "espina": in.
"espera" · 6 letters · shape VCCVCV · "espina" · 6 letters · shape VCCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "espera" for "espina" ever safe?
In ordinary Spanish text, does "espera" or "espina" show up more?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "espera" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "espina" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #288,894 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "espera" and "espina" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "espina vs expira". 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 #288,894 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.