figuranvsfigurarWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#10,343
“figuran” frequency rank
#18,836
“figurar” frequency rank
29179
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature figuran figurar
Definition Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de figurar. Disponer, delinear y formar la figura de una cosa.

Where the eye mixes figuran and figurar

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. figuran and figurar follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCVCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.

7 ch
figuran
7 ch
figurar

Visual trap between figuran and figurar

A purely visual mix-up. figuran ([fiˈɣ̞uɾãn]) and figurar ([fiɣ̞uˈɾaɾ]) 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 - n in “figuran” becomes r in “figurar”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 29179, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

figuran is recorded at frequency rank #10,343, classified as averb, pronounced [fiˈɣ̞uɾãn]. figurar is at rank #18,836, tagged as averb, pronounced [fiɣ̞uˈɾaɾ].

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 29179, this pair ranks #218,310 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of figuran vs figurar

Shared letters: afgiru. Private to "figuran": n. Private to "figurar": -.

"figuran" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC  ·  "figurar" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • figuran ← ffiguran · fgiuran · figguran · figruan · figuarn · figurann · figurna · figurran
  • figurar ← ffigurar · fgiurar · figgurar · figruar · figuarr · figurarr · figurrar · fiugrar

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "figuran" and "figurar" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([fiˈɣ̞uɾãn] versus [fiɣ̞uˈɾaɾ]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "figuran" vs "figurar" - which ranks higher?
"figuran" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #10,343 in our Spanish list, against #18,836 for "figurar". 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 "figuran" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "figurar" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #218,310 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "figuran" and "figurar" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Figueras vs figurar". 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 #218,310 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