jalanvsjalapaWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

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

#49,094
“jalan” frequency rank
#47,894
“jalapa” frequency rank
96988
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature jalan jalapa
Definition Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de jalar. (Ipomoea purga) Planta trepadora de la familia de las Convolvuláceas, originaria de México. Crece enroscada en los tallos de otras plantas, tiene una flores rosadas grandes y hermosas. Las raíces tienen un líquido blanquecino que es usado como laxante o purgante.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set jalan and jalapa apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
jalan
6 ch
jalapa

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: jalan is [ˈxalãn] while jalapa is [xaˈlapa]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 96988, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

jalan is recorded at frequency rank #49,094, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈxalãn]. jalapa is at rank #47,894, tagged as anoun, pronounced [xaˈlapa].

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 96988, this pair ranks #261 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of jalan vs jalapa

Shared letters: ajl. Private to "jalan": n. Private to "jalapa": p.

"jalan" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC  ·  "jalapa" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • jalanajlan · jaaln · jalann · jallan · jalna · jjalan · jlaan
  • jalapaajlapa · jaalpa · jalaap · jalappa · jallapa · jalpaa · jjalapa · jlaapa

Frequency comparison

jalan#49,094
jalapa#47,894

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "jalan" and "jalapa" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "jalan" is a verb and "jalapa" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "jalan" or "jalapa"?
"jalapa" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #47,894 in our Spanish list, against #49,094 for "jalan". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering jalan vs jalapa

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “jalan”; for a noun, it's “jalapa”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “jalan” 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