Which to use
“parrilla” and “patrulla” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #10,547
- “parrilla” frequency rank
- #10,548
- “patrulla” frequency rank
- 21095
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | parrilla | patrulla |
|---|---|---|
| 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. | Grupo de guardias, soldados u otros agentes del orden que recorren periódicamente una zona para vigilarla. |
Where the eye mixes parrilla and patrulla
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. parrilla and patrulla follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCCVCCV). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Why the eye confuses parrilla with patrulla
A purely visual mix-up. parrilla ([paˈriʝa]) and patrulla ([paˈt̪ɾuʝa]) 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 21095, 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]. patrulla is at rank #10,548, tagged as anoun, pronounced [paˈt̪ɾuʝa].
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 21095, this pair ranks #256,443 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of parrilla vs patrulla
Shared letters: alpr. Private to "parrilla": i. Private to "patrulla": tu.
"parrilla" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCCV · "patrulla" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "parrilla" and "patrulla" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "parrilla" or "patrulla"?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "parrilla" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "patrulla" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #256,443 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "parrilla" and "patrulla" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "patilla vs patrulla". 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 #256,443 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.