Which to use
“paella” is a noun and “pilla” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #26,549
- “paella” frequency rank
- #23,541
- “pilla” frequency rank
- 50090
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | paella | pilla |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Plato cuyos ingredientes básicos son el arroz, el azafrán y el aceite de oliva. Se trata de un sofrito de carne (pollo o conejo), verduras (tomate, judía verde, pimiento), azafrán y aceite, al cual se añade agua y tras un tiempo de cocción, se añade el arroz, continuando la cocción hasta que el arroz absorba todo el caldo. Es típico de Valencia, España, pero tiene numerosas versiones alrededor del mundo. | Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de pillar. |
Where the eye mixes paella and pilla
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: paella vs pilla
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: paella is [paˈeʝa] while pilla is [ˈpiʝa]. 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 50090, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
paella is recorded at frequency rank #26,549, classified as anoun, pronounced [paˈeʝa]. pilla is at rank #23,541, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈpiʝa].
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 50090, this pair ranks #105,153 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of paella vs pilla
Shared letters: alp. Private to "paella": e. Private to "pilla": i.
"paella" · 6 letters · shape CVVCCV · "pilla" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "paella" for "pilla" ever safe?
In ordinary Spanish text, does "paella" or "pilla" show up more?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "paella" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "pilla" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #105,153 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "paella" and "pilla" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "paella 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 #105,153 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.