Which to use
“mutación” and “mutilación” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #19,502
- “mutación” frequency rank
- #30,585
- “mutilación” frequency rank
- 50087
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | mutación | mutilación |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Acción o efecto de mutar | Acción o efecto de mutilar o mutilarse. |
Where the eye mixes mutación and mutilación
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. mutación runs 8 letters (CVCVCVVC) against mutilación's 10 (CVCVCVCVVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between mutación and mutilación
A purely visual mix-up. mutación ([mut̪aˈsjõn]) and mutilación ([mut̪ilaˈsjõn]) 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 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 50087, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
mutación is recorded at frequency rank #19,502, classified as anoun, pronounced [mut̪aˈsjõn]. mutilación is at rank #30,585, tagged as anoun, pronounced [mut̪ilaˈsjõn].
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 50087, this pair ranks #105,173 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of mutación vs mutilación
Shared letters: acimntuó. Private to "mutación": -. Private to "mutilación": l.
"mutación" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCVVC · "mutilación" · 10 letters · shape CVCVCVCVVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "mutación" for "mutilación" ever safe?
In ordinary Spanish text, does "mutación" or "mutilación" show up more?
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 "mutación" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "mutilación" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #105,173 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "mutación" and "mutilación" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "mitigación vs mutilación". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #105,173 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.