explicanvsexplicasWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#6,668
“explican” frequency rank
#20,990
“explicas” frequency rank
27658
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature explican explicas
Definition Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de explicar. Segunda persona del singular (tú) del presente de indicativo de explicar.

Where the eye mixes explican and explicas

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

8 ch
explican
8 ch
explicas

Look-alike desk: explican vs explicas

A purely visual mix-up. explican ([eksˈplikãn]) and explicas ([eksˈplikas]) 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 - n in “explican” becomes s in “explicas”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 27658, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

explican is recorded at frequency rank #6,668, classified as averb, pronounced [eksˈplikãn]. explicas is at rank #20,990, tagged as averb, pronounced [eksˈplikas].

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 27658, this pair ranks #225,774 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of explican vs explicas

Shared letters: aceilpx. Private to "explican": n. Private to "explicas": s.

"explican" · 8 letters · shape VCCCVCVC  ·  "explicas" · 8 letters · shape VCCCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • explicanepxlican · exlpican · expilcan · explcian · expliacn · explicann · expliccan · explicna
  • explicasepxlicas · exlpicas · expilcas · explcias · expliacs · explicass · expliccas · explicsa

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "explican" and "explicas" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([eksˈplikãn] versus [eksˈplikas]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "explican" or "explicas"?
"explican" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #6,668 in our Spanish list, against #20,990 for "explicas". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "explican" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "explicas" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #225,774 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "explican" and "explicas" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "explicados vs explicas". 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 #225,774 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