mofavsmorsaWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#36,166
“mofa” frequency rank
#37,735
“morsa” frequency rank
73901
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature mofa morsa
Definition Burla y escarnio que se hace de una persona con palabras, acciones o señales exteriores. (Odobenus rosmarus) Mamífero pinnípedo semiacuático de gran tamaño que habita en los mares ártico. Los machos superan los 3,5 m de largo y los 1.800 kg de peso, con el cuerpo fusiforme y las extremidades reducidas a aletas; su rasgo más distintivo es la extrema longitud de los colmillos, que salen de la boca superando los 50 cm de longitud. La piel es gruesa, cubierta de un corto y duro pelaje, y poseen una importante capa de grasa subcutánea. Son piscívoros. Forman manadas numerosas, y alcanzan los 50 años de edad.

Where the eye mixes mofa and morsa

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. mofa runs 4 letters (CVCV) against morsa's 5 (CVCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

4 ch
mofa
5 ch
morsa

Why the eye confuses mofa with morsa

A purely visual mix-up. mofa ([ˈmofa]) and morsa ([ˈmoɾsa]) 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 73901, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

mofa is recorded at frequency rank #36,166, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈmofa]. morsa is at rank #37,735, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈmoɾsa].

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 73901, this pair ranks #22,357 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of mofa vs morsa

Shared letters: amo. Private to "mofa": f. Private to "morsa": rs.

"mofa" · 4 letters · shape CVCV  ·  "morsa" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • mofa ← mfoa · mmofa · moaf · moffa · omfa
  • morsa ← mmorsa · moras · morrsa · morssa · mosra · mrosa · omrsa

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "mofa" for "morsa" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈmofa] versus [ˈmoɾsa]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "mofa" or "morsa"?
"mofa" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #36,166 in our Spanish list, against #37,735 for "morsa". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "mofa" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "morsa" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #22,357 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "mofa" and "morsa" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "morral vs morsa". 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 #22,357 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