gemavsgotaTell them apart

Which to use

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

#23,426
“gema” frequency rank
#6,785
“gota” frequency rank
30211
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature gema gota
Definition Cualquier piedra preciosa. Volumen pequeño de agua u otro líquido delimitado casi completamente por superficies libres y generalmente con forma cercana a la de una esfera.

Where the eye mixes gema and gota

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

4 ch
gema
4 ch
gota

Look-alike desk: gema vs gota

A purely visual mix-up. gema ([ˈxema]) and gota ([ˈgot̪a]) 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 30211, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

gema is recorded at frequency rank #23,426, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈxema]. gota is at rank #6,785, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈgot̪a].

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 30211, this pair ranks #213,109 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of gema vs gota

Shared letters: ag. Private to "gema": em. Private to "gota": ot.

"gema" · 4 letters · shape CVCV  ·  "gota" · 4 letters · shape CVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • gemaegma · geam · ggema · gmea
  • gotaggota · goat · gotta · gtoa · ogta

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "gema" for "gota" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈxema] versus [ˈgot̪a]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "gema" vs "gota" - which ranks higher?
"gota" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #6,785 in our Spanish list, against #23,426 for "gema". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "gema" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "gota" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #213,109 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "gema" and "gota" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "gara vs gema". 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 #213,109 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