MacíasvsmáximasWhich spelling fits?

Quick tell: Macías is a name, máximas is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“Macías” is a name and “máximas” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#27,294
“Macías” frequency rank
#13,965
“máximas” frequency rank
41259
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Macías máximas
Definition Apellido. Forma del femenino plural de máximo.

Where the eye mixes Macías and máximas

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. Macías runs 6 letters (CVCVVC) against máximas's 7 (CVCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

6 ch
Macías
7 ch
máximas

Why the eye confuses Macías with máximas

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Macías is [maˈsias] while máximas is [ˈmaksimas]. 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 (name vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 41259, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Macías is recorded at frequency rank #27,294, classified as aname, pronounced [maˈsias]. máximas is at rank #13,965, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈmaksimas].

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 41259, this pair ranks #154,636 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Macías vs máximas

Shared letters: ams. Private to "Macías": cí. Private to "máximas": ixá.

"Macías" · 6 letters · shape CVCVVC  ·  "máximas" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "Macías" for "máximas" ever safe?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "Macías" is a name and "máximas" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
In ordinary Spanish text, does "Macías" or "máximas" show up more?
"máximas" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #13,965 in our Spanish list, against #27,294 for "Macías". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Eye-level mix-up between "Macías" and "máximas" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Macías" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "máximas" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #154,636 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Macías" and "máximas" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Macías vs macizos". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #154,636 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list