legitimavslegítimosWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: legitima is a verb, legítimos is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“legitima” is a verb and “legítimos” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#25,336
“legitima” frequency rank
#15,139
“legítimos” frequency rank
40475
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature legitima legítimos
Definition Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de legitimar. Forma del masculino plural de legítimo.

Where the spellings diverge

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

8 ch
legitima
9 ch
legítimos

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

legitima and legítimos form a confusable pair in the Spanish index, two distinct headwords that are easily confused because they look alike, sound alike, or both. They differ by 1 letter(s) in length - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 40475, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

legitima is recorded at frequency rank #25,336, classified as averb, pronounced [lexiˈt̪ima]. legítimos is at rank #15,139, tagged as anadj, pronounced [leˈxit̪imos].

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 40475, this pair ranks #158,888 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Frequency comparison

legitima#25,336
legítimos#15,139

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "legitima" and "legítimos" be used interchangeably?
No, "legitima" and "legítimos" have distinct meanings and cannot be swapped without changing the meaning of a sentence. Understanding the specific definition and context for each word is essential for correct usage.

Remembering legitima vs legítimos

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “legitima”; for an adjective, it's “legítimos”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “legitima” 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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list