Which to use
“lances” and “lanchas” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #44,279
- “lances” frequency rank
- #24,927
- “lanchas” frequency rank
- 69206
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | lances | lanchas |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Forma del plural de lance. | Forma del plural de lancha. |
Where the eye mixes lances and lanchas
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. lances runs 6 letters (CVCCVC) against lanchas's 7 (CVCCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses lances with lanchas
A purely visual mix-up. lances ([ˈlãnses]) and lanchas ([ˈlãnʲt͡ʃas]) 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 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 69206, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
lances is recorded at frequency rank #44,279, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈlãnses]. lanchas is at rank #24,927, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈlãnʲt͡ʃas].
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 69206, this pair ranks #32,528 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of lances vs lanchas
Shared letters: aclns. Private to "lances": e. Private to "lanchas": h.
"lances" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "lanchas" · 7 letters · shape CVCCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "lances" for "lanchas" ever safe?
In ordinary Spanish text, does "lances" or "lanchas" show up more?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "lances" and "lanchas" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "lances" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "lanchas" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #32,528 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "lances" and "lanchas" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "lanceros vs lances". 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 #32,528 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.