explosivavsexplosivosWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#21,331
“explosiva” frequency rank
#10,501
“explosivos” frequency rank
31832
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

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

Where the eye mixes explosiva and explosivos

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence.

9 ch
explosiva
10 ch
explosivos

Visual trap between explosiva and explosivos

A purely visual mix-up. explosiva ([eksploˈsiβ̞a]) and explosivos ([eksploˈsiβ̞os]) 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 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 31832, 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]. explosivos is at rank #10,501, tagged as anadj, pronounced [eksploˈsiβ̞os].

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 31832, this pair ranks #205,090 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of explosiva vs explosivos

Shared letters: eilopsvx. Private to "explosiva": a. Private to "explosivos": -.

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

Known mistypes of this pair

  • explosivaepxlosiva · exlposiva · expllosiva · explociva · exploisva · explosiav · explosiba · explosivva
  • explosivosepxlosivos · exlposivos · expllosivos · explocivos · exploisvos · explosibos · explosiovs · explosivoss

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "explosiva" for "explosivos" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([eksploˈsiβ̞a] versus [eksploˈsiβ̞os]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "explosiva" vs "explosivos" - which ranks higher?
"explosivos" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #10,501 in our Spanish list, against #21,331 for "explosiva". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "explosiva" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "explosivos" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #205,090 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "explosiva" and "explosivos" 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 #205,090 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