parrillavspatillaWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#10,547
“parrilla” frequency rank
#47,984
“patilla” frequency rank
58531
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature parrilla patilla
Definition Utensilio de hierro en forma de rejilla, con mango y pies, para poner a la lumbre lo que se ha de asar o tostar. Pequeña extensión con forma de pata de un objeto, generalmente añadida para fines de sujeción.

Where the eye mixes parrilla and patilla

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. parrilla runs 8 letters (CVCCVCCV) against patilla's 7 (CVCVCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

8 ch
parrilla
7 ch
patilla

Why the eye confuses parrilla with patilla

A purely visual mix-up. parrilla ([paˈriʝa]) and patilla ([paˈt̪iʝa]) 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 58531, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

parrilla is recorded at frequency rank #10,547, classified as anoun, pronounced [paˈriʝa]. patilla is at rank #47,984, tagged as anoun, pronounced [paˈt̪iʝa].

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 58531, this pair ranks #66,128 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of parrilla vs patilla

Shared letters: ailp. Private to "parrilla": r. Private to "patilla": t.

"parrilla" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCCV  ·  "patilla" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • parrilla ← aprrilla · parilla · parirlla · parrila · parrilal · parrlila · pparrilla · prarilla
  • patilla ← aptilla · paitlla · patila · patilal · patlila · pattilla · ppatilla · ptailla

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "parrilla" and "patilla" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([paˈriʝa] versus [paˈt̪iʝa]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "parrilla" or "patilla"?
"parrilla" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #10,547 in our Spanish list, against #47,984 for "patilla". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "parrilla" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "patilla" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #66,128 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "parrilla" and "patilla" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "patilla vs puntilla". 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 #66,128 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