figuravsfuturaWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#1,481
“figura” frequency rank
#5,835
“futura” frequency rank
7316
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature figura futura
Definition Forma exterior característica de un cuerpo, que la distingue de otro. Forma del femenino singular de futuro.

Where the eye mixes figura and futura

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

Visual trap between figura and futura

A purely visual mix-up. figura ([fiˈɣ̞uɾa]) and futura ([fuˈt̪uɾa]) 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 7316, 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]. futura is at rank #5,835, tagged as anoun, pronounced [fuˈt̪uɾa].

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 7316, this pair ranks #308,328 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of figura vs futura

Shared letters: afru. Private to "figura": gi. Private to "futura": t.

"figura" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV  ·  "futura" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • figura ← ffigura · fgiura · figgura · figrua · figuar · figurra · fiugra · ifgura
  • futura ← ffutura · ftuura · futrua · futtura · futuar · futurra · fuutra · uftura

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "figura" for "futura" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([fiˈɣ̞uɾa] versus [fuˈt̪uɾa]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "figura" vs "futura" - which ranks higher?
"figura" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,481 in our Spanish list, against #5,835 for "futura". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

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 "futura" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #308,328 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "figura" and "futura" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "figura vs fijará". 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 #308,328 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