Which to use
“maracas” and “marías” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #46,048
- “maracas” frequency rank
- #26,919
- “marías” frequency rank
- 72967
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | maracas | marías |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Forma del plural de maraca. | Forma del plural de maría. |
Where the eye mixes maracas and marías
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between maracas and marías
A purely visual mix-up. maracas ([maˈɾakas]) and marías ([maˈɾias]) 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 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 72967, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
maracas is recorded at frequency rank #46,048, classified as anoun, pronounced [maˈɾakas]. marías is at rank #26,919, tagged as anoun, pronounced [maˈɾias].
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 72967, this pair ranks #24,256 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of maracas vs marías
Shared letters: amrs. Private to "maracas": c. Private to "marías": í.
"maracas" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC · "marías" · 6 letters · shape CVCVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- maracas ← amracas · maarcas · maraacs · maracass · maraccas · maracsa · marcaas · marracas
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "maracas" and "marías" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "maracas" or "marías"?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "maracas" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "marías" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #24,256 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "maracas" and "marías" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "maracas vs mirabas". 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 #24,256 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.