licitaciónvslimitaciónWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#8,981
“licitación” frequency rank
#10,167
“limitación” frequency rank
19148
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature licitación limitación
Definition Acción y efecto de licitar. Acción o efecto de limitar o de limitarse.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set licitación and limitación apart are highlighted. They share 9 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

10 ch
licitación
10 ch
limitación

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. licitación ([lisit̪aˈsjõn]) and limitación ([limit̪aˈsjõn]) 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 a single letter - c in “licitación” becomes m in “limitación”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 19148, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

licitación is recorded at frequency rank #8,981, classified as anoun, pronounced [lisit̪aˈsjõn]. limitación is at rank #10,167, tagged as anoun, pronounced [limit̪aˈsjõn].

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 19148, this pair ranks #264,974 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of licitación vs limitación

Shared letters: acilntó. Private to "licitación": -. Private to "limitación": m.

"licitación" · 10 letters · shape CVCVCVCVVC  ·  "limitación" · 10 letters · shape CVCVCVCVVC

Frequency comparison

licitación#8,981
limitación#10,167

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "licitación" and "limitación" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([lisit̪aˈsjõn] versus [limit̪aˈsjõn]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "licitación" or "limitación"?
"licitación" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #8,981 in our Spanish list, against #10,167 for "limitación". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering licitación vs limitación

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 “licitación” 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