Which to use
“marías” and “maricas” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #26,919
- “marías” frequency rank
- #32,289
- “maricas” frequency rank
- 59208
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | marías | maricas |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Forma del plural de maría. | Forma del plural de marica. |
Where the eye mixes marías and maricas
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. marías runs 6 letters (CVCVVC) against maricas's 7 (CVCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses marías with maricas
A purely visual mix-up. marías ([maˈɾias]) and maricas ([maˈɾikas]) 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 59208, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
marías is recorded at frequency rank #26,919, classified as anoun, pronounced [maˈɾias]. maricas is at rank #32,289, tagged as anoun, pronounced [maˈɾikas].
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 59208, this pair ranks #63,484 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of marías vs maricas
Shared letters: amrs. Private to "marías": í. Private to "maricas": ci.
"marías" · 6 letters · shape CVCVVC · "maricas" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- maricas ← amricas · maircas · marcias · mariacs · maricass · mariccas · maricsa · marricas
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "marías" and "maricas" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "marías" or "maricas"?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "marías" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "maricas" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #63,484 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "marías" and "maricas" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "maracas vs maricas". 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 #63,484 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.