ferrocarrilvsferrocarrilesWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#5,833
“ferrocarril” frequency rank
#9,642
“ferrocarriles” frequency rank
15475
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature ferrocarril ferrocarriles
Definition Medio de transporte que consiste en una serie de vagones remolcados por una locomotora que se desplazan sobre dos líneas de metal dispuestas paralelamente. Forma del plural de ferrocarril.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set ferrocarril and ferrocarriles apart are highlighted. They share 11 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

11 ch
ferrocarril
13 ch
ferrocarriles

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. ferrocarril ([ferokaˈril]) and ferrocarriles ([ferokaˈriles]) 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 2 extra letter(s) - “ferrocarril” sits inside “ferrocarriles”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 15475, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

ferrocarril is recorded at frequency rank #5,833, classified as anoun, pronounced [ferokaˈril]. ferrocarriles is at rank #9,642, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ferokaˈriles].

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 15475, this pair ranks #279,996 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of ferrocarril vs ferrocarriles

Shared letters: acefilor. Private to "ferrocarril": -. Private to "ferrocarriles": s.

"ferrocarril" · 11 letters · shape CVCCVCVCCVC  ·  "ferrocarriles" · 13 letters · shape CVCCVCVCCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • ferrocarrilefrrocarril · ferocarril · ferorcarril · ferrcoarril · ferroacrril · ferrocaril · ferrocarirl · ferrocarrill
  • ferrocarrilesefrrocarriles · ferocarriles · ferorcarriles · ferrcoarriles · ferroacrriles · ferrocariles · ferrocarirles · ferrocarriels

Frequency comparison

ferrocarril#5,833
ferrocarriles#9,642

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "ferrocarril" and "ferrocarriles" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ferokaˈril] versus [ferokaˈriles]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "ferrocarril" or "ferrocarriles"?
"ferrocarril" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #5,833 in our Spanish list, against #9,642 for "ferrocarriles". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering ferrocarril vs ferrocarriles

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “ferrocarril” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list