incompatiblevsincompatiblesWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#17,731
“incompatible” frequency rank
#22,058
“incompatibles” frequency rank
39789
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature incompatible incompatibles
Definition No compatible con otra cosa. Forma del plural de incompatible.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set incompatible and incompatibles apart are highlighted. They share 12 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

12 ch
incompatible
13 ch
incompatibles

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. incompatible ([ĩŋkõmpaˈt̪iβ̞le]) and incompatibles ([ĩŋkõmpaˈt̪iβ̞les]) 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) - “incompatible” sits inside “incompatibles”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 39789, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

incompatible is recorded at frequency rank #17,731, classified as anadj, pronounced [ĩŋkõmpaˈt̪iβ̞le]. incompatibles is at rank #22,058, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ĩŋkõmpaˈt̪iβ̞les].

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 39789, this pair ranks #162,611 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of incompatible vs incompatibles

Shared letters: abceilmnopt. Private to "incompatible": -. Private to "incompatibles": s.

"incompatible" · 12 letters · shape VCCVCCVCVCCV  ·  "incompatibles" · 13 letters · shape VCCVCCVCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • incompatibleicnompatible · inccompatible · incmopatible · incomaptible · incommpatible · incompaitble · incompatbile · incompatibble
  • incompatiblesicnompatibles · inccompatibles · incmopatibles · incomaptibles · incommpatibles · incompaitbles · incompatbiles · incompatibbles

Frequency comparison

incompatible#17,731
incompatibles#22,058

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "incompatible" and "incompatibles" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ĩŋkõmpaˈt̪iβ̞le] versus [ĩŋkõmpaˈt̪iβ̞les]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "incompatible" or "incompatibles"?
"incompatible" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #17,731 in our Spanish list, against #22,058 for "incompatibles". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering incompatible vs incompatibles

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “incompatible” 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