estrecharvsestrechasWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#25,259
“estrechar” frequency rank
#17,431
“estrechas” frequency rank
42690
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature estrechar estrechas
Definition Reducir a menor anchura o espacio alguna cosa. Segunda persona del singular (tú) del presente de indicativo de estrechar o de estrecharse.

Where the eye mixes estrechar and estrechas

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. estrechar and estrechas follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (VCCCVCCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.

9 ch
estrechar
9 ch
estrechas

Look-alike desk: estrechar vs estrechas

A purely visual mix-up. estrechar ([est̪ɾeˈt͡ʃaɾ]) and estrechas ([esˈt̪ɾet͡ʃas]) 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 a single letter - r in “estrechar” becomes s in “estrechas”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 42690, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

estrechar is recorded at frequency rank #25,259, classified as averb, pronounced [est̪ɾeˈt͡ʃaɾ]. estrechas is at rank #17,431, tagged as averb, pronounced [esˈt̪ɾet͡ʃas].

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 42690, this pair ranks #146,821 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of estrechar vs estrechas

Shared letters: acehrst. Private to "estrechar": -. Private to "estrechas": -.

"estrechar" · 9 letters · shape VCCCVCCVC  ·  "estrechas" · 9 letters · shape VCCCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • estrechar ← esrtechar · esstrechar · esterchar · estrcehar · estrecahr · estrecchar · estrecharr · estrechhar
  • estrechas ← esrtechas · esstrechas · esterchas · estrcehas · estrecahs · estrecchas · estrechass · estrechhas

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "estrechar" for "estrechas" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([est̪ɾeˈt͡ʃaɾ] versus [esˈt̪ɾet͡ʃas]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "estrechar" or "estrechas"?
"estrechas" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #17,431 in our Spanish list, against #25,259 for "estrechar". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "estrechar" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "estrechas" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #146,821 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "estrechar" and "estrechas" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "estrechar vs estrechez". 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 #146,821 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