establevsestablesTell them apart

Which to use

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

#4,160
“estable” frequency rank
#11,966
“estables” frequency rank
16126
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature estable estables
Definition Capacidad de permanecer constante o que se mantiene firme y sin cambios. Forma del plural de estable.

Where the eye mixes estable and estables

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence.

7 ch
estable
8 ch
estables

Look-alike desk: estable vs estables

A purely visual mix-up. estable ([esˈt̪aβ̞le]) and estables ([esˈt̪aβ̞les]) 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) - “estable” sits inside “estables”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 16126, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

estable is recorded at frequency rank #4,160, classified as anadj, pronounced [esˈt̪aβ̞le]. estables is at rank #11,966, tagged as anadj, pronounced [esˈt̪aβ̞les].

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 16126, this pair ranks #277,409 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of estable vs estables

Shared letters: abelst. Private to "estable": -. Private to "estables": -.

"estable" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCCV  ·  "estables" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • estableesatble · esstable · estabble · estabel · establle · estalbe · estavle · estbale
  • establesesatbles · esstables · estabbles · estabels · establess · establles · establse · estalbes

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "estable" for "estables" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([esˈt̪aβ̞le] versus [esˈt̪aβ̞les]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary Spanish text, does "estable" or "estables" show up more?
"estable" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #4,160 in our Spanish list, against #11,966 for "estables". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "estable" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "estables" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #277,409 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "estable" and "estables" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "estabais vs estables". 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 #277,409 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