fijavsfríaWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#4,710
“fija” frequency rank
#3,183
“fría” frequency rank
7893
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature fija fría
Definition Herramienta en forma de paleta que sirve para introducir o sacar material de espacios estrechos entre ladrillos, adoquines, columnas, etc. Cerveza.

Where the eye mixes fija and fría

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.

4 ch
fija
4 ch
fría

Look-alike desk: fija vs fría

A purely visual mix-up. fija ([ˈfixa]) and fría ([ˈfɾia]) 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 7893, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

fija is recorded at frequency rank #4,710, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈfixa]. fría is at rank #3,183, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈfɾia].

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 7893, this pair ranks #306,613 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of fija vs fría

Shared letters: af. Private to "fija": ij. Private to "fría": .

"fija" · 4 letters · shape CVCV  ·  "fría" · 4 letters · shape CCVV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • fijaffija · fiaj · fijja · fjia · ifja

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "fija" and "fría" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈfixa] versus [ˈfɾia]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary Spanish text, does "fija" or "fría" show up more?
"fría" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,183 in our Spanish list, against #4,710 for "fija". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "fija" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "fría" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #306,613 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "fija" and "fría" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "fija vs fora". 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 #306,613 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