mínimavsmínimasWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#3,800
“mínima” frequency rank
#12,013
“mínimas” frequency rank
15813
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature mínima mínimas
Definition Forma del femenino de mínimo. Forma del femenino plural de mínimo.

Where the eye mixes mínima and mínimas

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. mínima runs 6 letters (CVCVCV) against mínimas's 7 (CVCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

6 ch
mínima
7 ch
mínimas

Why the eye confuses mínima with mínimas

A purely visual mix-up. mínima ([ˈminima]) and mínimas ([ˈminimas]) 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) - “mínima” sits inside “mínimas”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 15813, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

mínima is recorded at frequency rank #3,800, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈminima]. mínimas is at rank #12,013, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈminimas].

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 15813, this pair ranks #278,678 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of mínima vs mínimas

Shared letters: aimní. Private to "mínima": -. Private to "mínimas": s.

"mínima" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV  ·  "mínimas" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "mínima" and "mínimas" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈminima] versus [ˈminimas]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "mínima" vs "mínimas" - which ranks higher?
"mínima" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,800 in our Spanish list, against #12,013 for "mínimas". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "mínima" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "mínimas" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #278,678 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "mínima" and "mínimas" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "manías vs mínimas". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #278,678 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