Which to use
“pastilla” and “patillas” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #13,533
- “pastilla” frequency rank
- #37,768
- “patillas” frequency rank
- 51301
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | pastilla | patillas |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Droga comprimida en un tamaño manipulable para ser administrada con fines medicinales. | Forma del plural de patilla. |
Where the eye mixes pastilla and patillas
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. pastilla (CVCCVCCV) and patillas (CVCVCCVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Why the eye confuses pastilla with patillas
A purely visual mix-up. pastilla ([pasˈt̪iʝa]) and patillas ([paˈt̪iʝas]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they are an anagram pair: the same letters reordered. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 51301, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
pastilla is recorded at frequency rank #13,533, classified as anoun, pronounced [pasˈt̪iʝa]. patillas is at rank #37,768, tagged as anoun, pronounced [paˈt̪iʝas].
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 51301, this pair ranks #98,568 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of pastilla vs patillas
Shared letters: ailpst. Private to "pastilla": -. Private to "patillas": -.
"pastilla" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCCV · "patillas" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "pastilla" for "patillas" ever safe?
Frequency check: "pastilla" vs "patillas" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "pastilla" and "patillas" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "pastilla" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "patillas" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #98,568 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "pastilla" and "patillas" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "patilla vs patillas". 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 #98,568 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.