Which to use
“espiga” and “espinas” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #35,029
- “espiga” frequency rank
- #11,403
- “espinas” frequency rank
- 46432
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | espiga | espinas |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Tipo de inflorescencia racemosa en la cual el eje es alargado, con cabillos muy cortos o sin ninguno, como en el trigo y el espliego; sus flores más jóvenes se ubican en el ápice del mismo. | Forma del plural de espina₁. |
Where the eye mixes espiga and espinas
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between espiga and espinas
A purely visual mix-up. espiga ([esˈpiɣ̞a]) 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 differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 46432, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
espiga is recorded at frequency rank #35,029, classified as anoun, pronounced [esˈpiɣ̞a]. 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 46432, this pair ranks #125,758 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of espiga vs espinas
Shared letters: aeips. Private to "espiga": g. Private to "espinas": n.
"espiga" · 6 letters · shape VCCVCV · "espinas" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "espiga" and "espinas" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "espiga" or "espinas"?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "espiga" 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 #125,758 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "espiga" and "espinas" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "espiga 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 #125,758 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.