huellavshuellasWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: huella is a noun, huellas is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“huella” is a noun and “huellas” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#6,070
“huella” frequency rank
#6,188
“huellas” frequency rank
12258
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature huella huellas
Definition Acción o efecto de hollar. Segunda persona del singular (tú) del presente de indicativo de hollar.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set huella and huellas apart are highlighted. They share 6 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
huella
7 ch
huellas

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: huella is [ˈ(ɣ̞)w̝eʝa] while huellas is [ˈ(ɣ̞)w̝eʝas]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “huella” sits inside “huellas”, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 12258, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

huella is recorded at frequency rank #6,070, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈ(ɣ̞)w̝eʝa]. huellas is at rank #6,188, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈ(ɣ̞)w̝eʝas].

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 12258, this pair ranks #292,160 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of huella vs huellas

Shared letters: aehlu. Private to "huella": -. Private to "huellas": s.

"huella" · 6 letters · shape CVVCCV  ·  "huellas" · 7 letters · shape CVVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • huellaheulla · hhuella · huelal · hulela · uhella
  • huellasheullas · hhuellas · huelals · huelas · huellass · huellsa · hulelas · uhellas

Frequency comparison

huella#6,070
huellas#6,188

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "huella" and "huellas" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "huella" is a noun and "huellas" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "huella" or "huellas"?
"huella" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #6,070 in our Spanish list, against #6,188 for "huellas". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering huella vs huellas

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “huella”; for a verb, it's “huellas”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “huella” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list