explosivavsexplosivasTell them apart

Which to use

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

#21,331
“explosiva” frequency rank
#34,580
“explosivas” frequency rank
55911
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature explosiva explosivas
Definition Forma del femenino de explosivo. Forma del femenino plural de explosivo.

Where the eye mixes explosiva and explosivas

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 9 letters in sequence.

9 ch
explosiva
10 ch
explosivas

Why the eye confuses explosiva with explosivas

A purely visual mix-up. explosiva ([eksploˈsiβ̞a]) and explosivas ([eksploˈsiβ̞as]) 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) - “explosiva” sits inside “explosivas”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 55911, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

explosiva is recorded at frequency rank #21,331, classified as anadj, pronounced [eksploˈsiβ̞a]. explosivas is at rank #34,580, tagged as anadj, pronounced [eksploˈsiβ̞as].

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 55911, this pair ranks #76,809 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of explosiva vs explosivas

Shared letters: aeilopsvx. Private to "explosiva": -. Private to "explosivas": -.

"explosiva" · 9 letters · shape VCCCVCVCV  ·  "explosivas" · 10 letters · shape VCCCVCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • explosivaepxlosiva · exlposiva · expllosiva · explociva · exploisva · explosiav · explosiba · explosivva
  • explosivasepxlosivas · exlposivas · expllosivas · explocivas · exploisvas · explosiavs · explosibas · explosivass

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "explosiva" and "explosivas" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([eksploˈsiβ̞a] versus [eksploˈsiβ̞as]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "explosiva" vs "explosivas" - which ranks higher?
"explosiva" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #21,331 in our Spanish list, against #34,580 for "explosivas". 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 "explosiva" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "explosivas" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #76,809 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "explosiva" and "explosivas" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "explosion vs explosiva". 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 #76,809 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