espigavsespinoWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#35,029
“espiga” frequency rank
#27,982
“espino” frequency rank
63011
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature espiga espino
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. (Crataegus spp.) Nombre dado a unas doscientas especies de árboles y arbustos, de la familia de las Rosáceas y género Crataegus, que se encuentran en zonas frías de Europa, Norteamérica y Asia. Tienen ramas espinosas, flores blancas o rosadas, y decorativos frutos con forma de bayas rojas que aparecen en otoño y permanecen en el árbol durante el invierno, lo que los convierte en apreciadas plantas de jardín.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set espiga and espino apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
espiga
6 ch
espino

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. espiga ([esˈpiɣ̞a]) and espino ([esˈpino]) 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 63011, 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]. espino is at rank #27,982, tagged as anoun, pronounced [esˈpino].

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 63011, this pair ranks #50,141 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of espiga vs espino

Shared letters: eips. Private to "espiga": ag. Private to "espino": no.

"espiga" · 6 letters · shape VCCVCV  ·  "espino" · 6 letters · shape VCCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • espigaepsiga · esipga · espgia · espiag · espigga · esppiga · esspiga · sepiga
  • espinoepsino · esipno · espinno · espion · espnio · esppino · esspino · sepino

Frequency comparison

espiga#35,029
espino#27,982

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "espiga" and "espino" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([esˈpiɣ̞a] versus [esˈpino]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "espiga" or "espino"?
"espino" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #27,982 in our Spanish list, against #35,029 for "espiga". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering espiga vs espino

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 “espiga” 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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list