figura vs figure, What's the Difference?

Which to use

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

#1,481
“figura” frequency rank: #30,479
“figure” frequency rank: 31960
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	figura	figure
Definition	Forma exterior característica de un cuerpo, que la distingue de otro.	Figura.

Where the eye mixes figura and figure

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. figura and figure follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCVCV). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.

6 ch

figura

6 ch

figure

Look-alike desk: figura vs figure

A purely visual mix-up. figura ([fiˈɣ̞uɾa]) and figure (/fi.ɡyʁ/) 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 - a in “figura” becomes e in “figure”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 31960, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

figura is recorded at frequency rank #1,481, classified as anoun, pronounced [fiˈɣ̞uɾa]. figure is at rank #30,479, tagged as anoun, pronounced /fi.ɡyʁ/.

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 31960, this pair ranks #204,431 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of figura vs figure

Shared letters: fgiru. Private to "figura": a. Private to "figure": e.

"figura" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV · "figure" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

figura ← ffigura · fgiura · figgura · figrua · figuar · figurra · fiugra · ifgura
figure ← ffigure · fgiure · figgure · figrue · figuer · figurre · fiugre · ifgure

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "figura" and "figure" mean the same thing in a sentence?

No. They are said differently ([fiˈɣ̞uɾa] versus /fi.ɡyʁ/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.

In ordinary Spanish text, does "figura" or "figure" show up more?

"figura" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,481 in our Spanish list, against #30,479 for "figure". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

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 "figura" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
Full dictionary entry for "figure" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
This pair ranks #204,431 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
"figura" and "figure" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "figure vs fisura". 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 #204,431 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.