minivsmínimaConfusable pair

Quick tell: mini is a noun, mínima is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“mini” is a noun and “mínima” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#5,017
“mini” frequency rank
#3,800
“mínima” frequency rank
8817
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature mini mínima
Definition Minifalda. Forma del femenino de mínimo.

Where the eye mixes mini and mínima

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.

4 ch
mini
6 ch
mínima

Why the eye confuses mini with mínima

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: mini is [ˈmini] while mínima is [ˈminima]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 8817, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

mini is recorded at frequency rank #5,017, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈmini]. mínima is at rank #3,800, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈminima].

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 8817, this pair ranks #303,839 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of mini vs mínima

Shared letters: imn. Private to "mini": -. Private to "mínima": .

"mini" · 4 letters · shape CVCV  ·  "mínima" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • miniimni · miin · minni · mmini · mnii

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "mini" for "mínima" ever safe?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "mini" is a noun and "mínima" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
In ordinary Spanish text, does "mini" or "mínima" show up more?
"mínima" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,800 in our Spanish list, against #5,017 for "mini". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Eye-level mix-up between "mini" and "mínima" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "mini" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "mínima" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #303,839 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "mini" and "mínima" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "minga vs mini". 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 #303,839 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