mortalvsmortalesWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#5,138
“mortal” frequency rank
#7,600
“mortales” frequency rank
12738
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature mortal mortales
Definition Que pertenece o concierne a la muerte. Forma del plural de mortal.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set mortal and mortales apart are highlighted. They share 6 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
mortal
8 ch
mortales

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. mortal ([moɾˈt̪al]) and mortales ([moɾˈt̪ales]) 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 2 extra letter(s) - “mortal” sits inside “mortales”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 12738, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

mortal is recorded at frequency rank #5,138, classified as anadj, pronounced [moɾˈt̪al]. mortales is at rank #7,600, tagged as anadj, pronounced [moɾˈt̪ales].

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 12738, this pair ranks #290,457 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of mortal vs mortales

Shared letters: almort. Private to "mortal": -. Private to "mortales": es.

"mortal" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC  ·  "mortales" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • mortalmmortal · moratl · morrtal · mortall · mortla · morttal · motral · mrotal
  • mortalesmmortales · moratles · morrtales · mortaels · mortaless · mortalles · mortalse · mortlaes

Frequency comparison

mortal#5,138
mortales#7,600

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "mortal" and "mortales" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([moɾˈt̪al] versus [moɾˈt̪ales]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "mortal" or "mortales"?
"mortal" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #5,138 in our Spanish list, against #7,600 for "mortales". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering mortal vs mortales

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “mortal” 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