ilustravsilustrarWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#14,618
“ilustra” frequency rank
#14,865
“ilustrar” frequency rank
29483
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature ilustra ilustrar
Definition Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de ilustrar. Dar luz al entendimiento.

Where the eye mixes ilustra and ilustrar

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. ilustra runs 7 letters (VCVCCCV) against ilustrar's 8 (VCVCCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

7 ch
ilustra
8 ch
ilustrar

Visual trap between ilustra and ilustrar

A purely visual mix-up. ilustra ([iˈlust̪ɾa]) and ilustrar ([ilusˈt̪ɾaɾ]) 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 1 extra letter(s) - “ilustra” sits inside “ilustrar”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 29483, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

ilustra is recorded at frequency rank #14,618, classified as averb, pronounced [iˈlust̪ɾa]. ilustrar is at rank #14,865, tagged as averb, pronounced [ilusˈt̪ɾaɾ].

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 29483, this pair ranks #216,786 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of ilustra vs ilustrar

Shared letters: ailrstu. Private to "ilustra": -. Private to "ilustrar": -.

"ilustra" · 7 letters · shape VCVCCCV  ·  "ilustrar" · 8 letters · shape VCVCCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • ilustra ← illustra · ilsutra · ilusrta · ilusstra · ilustar · ilustrra · ilusttra · ilutsra
  • ilustrar ← illustrar · ilsutrar · ilusrtar · ilusstrar · ilustarr · ilustrarr · ilustrrar · ilusttrar

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "ilustra" for "ilustrar" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([iˈlust̪ɾa] versus [ilusˈt̪ɾaɾ]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "ilustra" or "ilustrar"?
"ilustra" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #14,618 in our Spanish list, against #14,865 for "ilustrar". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "ilustra" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "ilustrar" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #216,786 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "ilustra" and "ilustrar" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "ilustrador vs ilustrar". 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 #216,786 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