habilidadvshabilidadesConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#3,416
“habilidad” frequency rank
#2,888
“habilidades” frequency rank
6304
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature habilidad habilidades
Definition Capacidad, inteligencia, efectividad y disposición para hacer algo. Forma del plural de habilidad.

Where the eye mixes habilidad and habilidades

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 9 letters in sequence. habilidad runs 9 letters (CVCVCVCVC) against habilidades's 11 (CVCVCVCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

9 ch
habilidad
11 ch
habilidades

Look-alike desk: habilidad vs habilidades

A purely visual mix-up. habilidad ([aβ̞iliˈð̞að̞]) and habilidades ([aβ̞iliˈð̞að̞es]) 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 2 extra letter(s) - “habilidad” sits inside “habilidades”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 6304, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

habilidad is recorded at frequency rank #3,416, classified as anoun, pronounced [aβ̞iliˈð̞að̞]. habilidades is at rank #2,888, tagged as anoun, pronounced [aβ̞iliˈð̞að̞es].

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 6304, this pair ranks #311,163 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of habilidad vs habilidades

Shared letters: abdhil. Private to "habilidad": -. Private to "habilidades": es.

"habilidad" · 9 letters · shape CVCVCVCVC  ·  "habilidades" · 11 letters · shape CVCVCVCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • habilidad ← ahbilidad · habbilidad · habiildad · habildiad · habiliadd · habilidadd · habilidda · habiliddad
  • habilidades ← ahbilidades · habbilidades · habiildades · habildiades · habiliaddes · habilidaddes · habilidadess · habilidadse

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "habilidad" for "habilidades" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([aβ̞iliˈð̞að̞] versus [aβ̞iliˈð̞að̞es]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "habilidad" or "habilidades"?
"habilidades" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,888 in our Spanish list, against #3,416 for "habilidad". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Eye-level mix-up between "habilidad" and "habilidades" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "habilidad" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "habilidades" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #311,163 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "habilidad" and "habilidades" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "habilidades vs habilitadas". 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 #311,163 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