muellevsmuellesWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: muelle is a adjective, muelles is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

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

#8,843
“muelle” frequency rank
#16,393
“muelles” frequency rank
25236
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature muelle muelles
Definition Delicado, suave, blando. Tenazas grandes que se usan en las casas de moneda para agarrar los rieles y tejos durante la fundición y echarlos en la copela.

Where the spellings diverge

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

6 ch
muelle
7 ch
muelles

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: muelle is [ˈmweʝe] while muelles is [ˈmweʝes]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “muelle” sits inside “muelles”, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 25236, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

muelle is recorded at frequency rank #8,843, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈmweʝe]. muelles is at rank #16,393, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈmweʝes].

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 25236, this pair ranks #237,370 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of muelle vs muelles

Shared letters: elmu. Private to "muelle": -. Private to "muelles": s.

"muelle" · 6 letters · shape CVVCCV  ·  "muelles" · 7 letters · shape CVVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • muellemeulle · mmuelle · muele · muelel · mulele · umelle
  • muellesmeulles · mmuelles · muelels · mueles · muelless · muellse · muleles · umelles

Frequency comparison

muelle#8,843
muelles#16,393

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "muelle" and "muelles" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "muelle" is an adjective and "muelles" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "muelle" or "muelles"?
"muelle" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #8,843 in our Spanish list, against #16,393 for "muelles". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering muelle vs muelles

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need an adjective, it's “muelle”; for a noun, it's “muelles”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “muelle” 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