fiebrevsfierroWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#4,602
“fiebre” frequency rank
#10,853
“fierro” frequency rank
15455
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature fiebre fierro
Definition Fenómeno patológico que ordinariamente se manifiesta por elevación de la temperatura normal del cuerpo y frecuencia del pulso y la respiración. Variante obsoleta de hierro (elemento químico).

Where the eye mixes fiebre and fierro

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.

6 ch
fiebre
6 ch
fierro

Visual trap between fiebre and fierro

A purely visual mix-up. fiebre ([ˈfjeβ̞ɾe]) and fierro ([ˈfjero]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 15455, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

fiebre is recorded at frequency rank #4,602, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈfjeβ̞ɾe]. fierro is at rank #10,853, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈfjero].

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 15455, this pair ranks #280,073 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of fiebre vs fierro

Shared letters: efir. Private to "fiebre": b. Private to "fierro": o.

"fiebre" · 6 letters · shape CVVCCV  ·  "fierro" · 6 letters · shape CVVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • fiebrefeibre · ffiebre · fibere · fiebbre · fieber · fiebrre · fierbe · fievre
  • fierrofeirro · ffierro · fieror · firero · iferro

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "fiebre" and "fierro" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ˈfjeβ̞ɾe] versus [ˈfjero]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "fiebre" vs "fierro" - which ranks higher?
"fiebre" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #4,602 in our Spanish list, against #10,853 for "fierro". 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 "fiebre" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "fierro" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #280,073 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "fiebre" and "fierro" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "fierro vs fierros". 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 #280,073 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