modalesvsmóvilesWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

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

#15,166
“modales” frequency rank
#3,801
“móviles” frequency rank
18967
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature modales móviles
Definition Acciones externas de cada persona, con que se hace reparar y se singulariza entre las demás, dando a conocer su buena o mala educación. Antes era sustantivo ambiguo. Forma del plural de móvil.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set modales and móviles apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

7 ch
modales
7 ch
móviles

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: modales is [moˈð̞ales] while móviles is [ˈmoβ̞iles]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 3 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 18967, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

modales is recorded at frequency rank #15,166, classified as anoun, pronounced [moˈð̞ales]. móviles is at rank #3,801, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈmoβ̞iles].

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 18967, this pair ranks #265,728 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of modales vs móviles

Shared letters: elms. Private to "modales": ado. Private to "móviles": ivó.

"modales" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC  ·  "móviles" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • modalesmdoales · mmodales · moadles · modaels · modaless · modalles · modalse · moddales

Frequency comparison

modales#15,166
móviles#3,801

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "modales" and "móviles" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "modales" is a noun and "móviles" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "modales" or "móviles"?
"móviles" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,801 in our Spanish list, against #15,166 for "modales". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering modales vs móviles

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “modales”; for an adjective, it's “móviles”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “modales” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list