nombravsnominaTell them apart

Which to use

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

#10,386
“nombra” frequency rank
#27,704
“nomina” frequency rank
38090
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature nombra nomina
Definition Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de nombrar. Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de nominar.

Where the eye mixes nombra and nomina

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. nombra (CVCCCV) and nomina (CVCVCV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.

6 ch
nombra
6 ch
nomina

Visual trap between nombra and nomina

A purely visual mix-up. nombra ([ˈnõmbɾa]) and nomina ([noˈmina]) 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 38090, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

nombra is recorded at frequency rank #10,386, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈnõmbɾa]. nomina is at rank #27,704, tagged as averb, pronounced [noˈmina].

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 38090, this pair ranks #171,878 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of nombra vs nomina

Shared letters: amno. Private to "nombra": br. Private to "nomina": i.

"nombra" · 6 letters · shape CVCCCV  ·  "nomina" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • nombra ← nmobra · nnombra · nobmra · nombar · nombbra · nommbra · nomrba · nomvra
  • nomina ← nmoina · nnomina · noimna · nomian · nominna · nommina · nomnia · onmina

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "nombra" for "nomina" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈnõmbɾa] versus [noˈmina]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary Spanish text, does "nombra" or "nomina" show up more?
"nombra" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #10,386 in our Spanish list, against #27,704 for "nomina". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Eye-level mix-up between "nombra" and "nomina" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "nombra" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "nomina" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #171,878 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "nombra" and "nomina" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "nomina vs nominar". 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 #171,878 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