multavsmuteWhich spelling fits?

Quick tell: multa is a noun, mute is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“multa” is a noun and “mute” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#4,355
“multa” frequency rank
#44,883
“mute” frequency rank
49238
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature multa mute
Definition Sanción económica que la autoridad hacendaria impone a los contribuyentes que en alguna forma han infringido la ley. Primera persona del singular (yo) del presente de subjuntivo de mutar.

Where the eye mixes multa and mute

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.

5 ch
multa
4 ch
mute

Visual trap between multa and mute

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: multa is [ˈmul̪t̪a] while mute is [ˈmut̪e]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 49238, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

multa is recorded at frequency rank #4,355, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈmul̪t̪a]. mute is at rank #44,883, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈmut̪e].

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 49238, this pair ranks #109,960 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of multa vs mute

Shared letters: mtu. Private to "multa": al. Private to "mute": e.

"multa" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV  ·  "mute" · 4 letters · shape CVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • multamluta · mmulta · mulat · mullta · multta · mutla · umlta
  • mutemmute · mtue · muet · mutte · umte

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "multa" and "mute" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "multa" is a noun and "mute" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "multa" or "mute"?
"multa" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #4,355 in our Spanish list, against #44,883 for "mute". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

What to do next

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "multa" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "mute" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #109,960 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "multa" and "mute" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "mur vs mute". 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 #109,960 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