malesvsmodalesWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#8,985
“males” frequency rank
#15,166
“modales” frequency rank
24151
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature males modales
Definition Forma del plural de mal. Acciones externas de cada persona, con que se hace reparar y se singulariza entre las demás, dando a conocer su buena o mala educación. Antes era sustantivo ambiguo.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set males and modales apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
males
7 ch
modales

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. males ([ˈmales]) and modales ([moˈð̞ales]) 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 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 24151, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

males is recorded at frequency rank #8,985, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈmales]. modales is at rank #15,166, tagged as anoun, pronounced [moˈð̞ales].

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 24151, this pair ranks #242,489 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of males vs modales

Shared letters: aelms. Private to "males": -. Private to "modales": do.

"males" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC  ·  "modales" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • malesamles · maels · maless · malles · malse · mlaes · mmales
  • modalesmdoales · mmodales · moadles · modaels · modaless · modalles · modalse · moddales

Frequency comparison

males#8,985
modales#15,166

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "males" and "modales" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈmales] versus [moˈð̞ales]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "males" or "modales"?
"males" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #8,985 in our Spanish list, against #15,166 for "modales". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering males vs modales

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 “males” 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