ManilavsMansillaTell them apart

Which to use

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

#12,865
“Manila” frequency rank
#34,666
“Mansilla” frequency rank
47531
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Manila Mansilla
Definition Capital de Filipinas. Apellido.

Where the eye mixes Manila and Mansilla

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. Manila runs 6 letters (CVCVCV) against Mansilla's 8 (CVCCVCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

6 ch
Manila
8 ch
Mansilla

Visual trap between Manila and Mansilla

A purely visual mix-up. Manila ([maˈnila]) and Mansilla ([mãnˈsiʝa]) 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 47531, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Manila is recorded at frequency rank #12,865, classified as aname, pronounced [maˈnila]. Mansilla is at rank #34,666, tagged as aname, pronounced [mãnˈsiʝa].

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 47531, this pair ranks #119,523 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Manila vs Mansilla

Shared letters: ailmn. Private to "Manila": -. Private to "Mansilla": s.

"Manila" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV  ·  "Mansilla" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Manilaamnila · mainla · manial · manilla · manlia · mannila · mmanila · mnaila
  • Mansillaamnsilla · mancilla · manislla · mannsilla · mansila · mansilal · manslila · manssilla

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "Manila" for "Mansilla" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([maˈnila] versus [mãnˈsiʝa]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "Manila" vs "Mansilla" - which ranks higher?
"Manila" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #12,865 in our Spanish list, against #34,666 for "Mansilla". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Manila" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Mansilla" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #119,523 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Manila" and "Mansilla" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Mansilla vs mantilla". Nearby pair
  • Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes

Confusion rank #119,523 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