mandíbulavsmandíbulasWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#12,194
“mandíbula” frequency rank
#27,678
“mandíbulas” frequency rank
39872
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature mandíbula mandíbulas
Definition Conjunto de los huesos o cartílagos que se articulan formando la boca en los vertebrados o las estructuras análogas que poseen algunos artrópodos. Forma del plural de mandíbula.

Where the eye mixes mandíbula and mandíbulas

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 9 letters in sequence.

9 ch
mandíbula
10 ch
mandíbulas

Visual trap between mandíbula and mandíbulas

A purely visual mix-up. mandíbula ([mãn̪ˈd̪iβ̞ula]) and mandíbulas ([mãn̪ˈd̪iβ̞ulas]) 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 extra letter(s) - “mandíbula” sits inside “mandíbulas”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 39872, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

mandíbula is recorded at frequency rank #12,194, classified as anoun, pronounced [mãn̪ˈd̪iβ̞ula]. mandíbulas is at rank #27,678, tagged as anoun, pronounced [mãn̪ˈd̪iβ̞ulas].

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 39872, this pair ranks #162,213 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of mandíbula vs mandíbulas

Shared letters: abdlmnuí. Private to "mandíbula": -. Private to "mandíbulas": s.

"mandíbula" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCVCV  ·  "mandíbulas" · 10 letters · shape CVCCVCVCVC

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "mandíbula" and "mandíbulas" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([mãn̪ˈd̪iβ̞ula] versus [mãn̪ˈd̪iβ̞ulas]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "mandíbula" or "mandíbulas"?
"mandíbula" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #12,194 in our Spanish list, against #27,678 for "mandíbulas". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "mandíbula" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "mandíbulas" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #162,213 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "mandíbula" and "mandíbulas" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "mandíbula vs manipula". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #162,213 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