muelavsmusloTell them apart

Which to use

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

#21,412
“muela” frequency rank
#21,078
“muslo” frequency rank
42490
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature muela muslo
Definition Disco de piedra que girando sobre otro o sobre la solera, muele lo que se interpone entre ambas piedras. Parte superior de la pierna, situada entre la cadera y la rodilla y en la que se encuentra el fémur.

Where the eye mixes muela and muslo

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. muela (CVVCV) and muslo (CVCCV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.

5 ch
muela
5 ch
muslo

Look-alike desk: muela vs muslo

A purely visual mix-up. muela ([ˈmwela]) and muslo ([ˈmuslo]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 42490, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

muela is recorded at frequency rank #21,412, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈmwela]. muslo is at rank #21,078, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈmuslo].

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 42490, this pair ranks #147,916 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of muela vs muslo

Shared letters: lmu. Private to "muela": ae. Private to "muslo": os.

"muela" · 5 letters · shape CVVCV  ·  "muslo" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • muela ← meula · mmuela · mueal · muella · mulea · umela
  • muslo ← mmuslo · msulo · mulso · musllo · musol · musslo · umslo

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "muela" and "muslo" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈmwela] versus [ˈmuslo]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "muela" vs "muslo" - which ranks higher?
"muslo" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #21,078 in our Spanish list, against #21,412 for "muela". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "muela" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "muslo" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #147,916 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "muela" and "muslo" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "mosto vs muslo". 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 #147,916 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