pacotillavspastillaWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#42,601
“pacotilla” frequency rank
#13,533
“pastilla” frequency rank
56134
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature pacotilla pastilla
Definition Equipaje que se permite llevar a los marineros sin pagar flete. Droga comprimida en un tamaño manipulable para ser administrada con fines medicinales.

Where the eye mixes pacotilla and pastilla

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. pacotilla runs 9 letters (CVCVCVCCV) against pastilla's 8 (CVCCVCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

9 ch
pacotilla
8 ch
pastilla

Visual trap between pacotilla and pastilla

A purely visual mix-up. pacotilla ([pakoˈt̪iʝa]) and pastilla ([pasˈt̪iʝa]) 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 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 56134, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

pacotilla is recorded at frequency rank #42,601, classified as anoun, pronounced [pakoˈt̪iʝa]. pastilla is at rank #13,533, tagged as anoun, pronounced [pasˈt̪iʝa].

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 56134, this pair ranks #75,898 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of pacotilla vs pastilla

Shared letters: ailpt. Private to "pacotilla": co. Private to "pastilla": s.

"pacotilla" · 9 letters · shape CVCVCVCCV  ·  "pastilla" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • pacotilla ← apcotilla · paccotilla · pacoitlla · pacotila · pacotilal · pacotlila · pacottilla · pactoilla
  • pastilla ← apstilla · pasitlla · passtilla · pastila · pastilal · pastlila · pasttilla · patsilla

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "pacotilla" and "pastilla" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([pakoˈt̪iʝa] versus [pasˈt̪iʝa]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary Spanish text, does "pacotilla" or "pastilla" show up more?
"pastilla" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #13,533 in our Spanish list, against #42,601 for "pacotilla". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "pacotilla" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "pastilla" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #75,898 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "pacotilla" and "pastilla" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "pacotilla vs patilla". 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 #75,898 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