patatasvspatrañasTell them apart

Which to use

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

#9,340
“patatas” frequency rank
#42,062
“patrañas” frequency rank
51402
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature patatas patrañas
Definition Forma del plural de patata. Forma del plural de patraña.

Where the eye mixes patatas and patrañas

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

7 ch
patatas
8 ch
patrañas

Look-alike desk: patatas vs patrañas

A purely visual mix-up. patatas ([paˈt̪at̪as]) and patrañas ([paˈt̪ɾaɲas]) 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 51402, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

patatas is recorded at frequency rank #9,340, classified as anoun, pronounced [paˈt̪at̪as]. patrañas is at rank #42,062, tagged as anoun, pronounced [paˈt̪ɾaɲas].

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 51402, this pair ranks #98,060 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of patatas vs patrañas

Shared letters: apst. Private to "patatas": -. Private to "patrañas": .

"patatas" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC  ·  "patrañas" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • patatasaptatas · paattas · pataats · patatass · patatsa · patattas · pattaas · pattatas

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "patatas" for "patrañas" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([paˈt̪at̪as] versus [paˈt̪ɾaɲas]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "patatas" vs "patrañas" - which ranks higher?
"patatas" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #9,340 in our Spanish list, against #42,062 for "patrañas". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "patatas" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "patrañas" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #98,060 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "patatas" and "patrañas" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "paganas vs patrañas". 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 #98,060 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