patentesvspotenteWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#10,193
“patentes” frequency rank
#8,042
“potente” frequency rank
18235
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature patentes potente
Definition Forma del plural de patente. Poderoso, que tiene capacidad o poder para algo. Ejemplo: "La máquina tiene un motor potente".

Where the eye mixes patentes and potente

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

8 ch
patentes
7 ch
potente

Why the eye confuses patentes with potente

A purely visual mix-up. patentes ([paˈt̪ẽn̪t̪es]) and potente ([poˈt̪ẽn̪t̪e]) 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 18235, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

patentes is recorded at frequency rank #10,193, classified as anadj, pronounced [paˈt̪ẽn̪t̪es]. potente is at rank #8,042, tagged as anadj, pronounced [poˈt̪ẽn̪t̪e].

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 18235, this pair ranks #268,782 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of patentes vs potente

Shared letters: enpt. Private to "patentes": as. Private to "potente": o.

"patentes" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVC  ·  "potente" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • patentes ← aptentes · paetntes · patenets · patenntes · patentess · patentse · patenttes · patetnes
  • potente ← optente · poetnte · potenet · potennte · potentte · potetne · potnete · pottente

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "patentes" and "potente" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([paˈt̪ẽn̪t̪es] versus [poˈt̪ẽn̪t̪e]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary Spanish text, does "patentes" or "potente" show up more?
"potente" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #8,042 in our Spanish list, against #10,193 for "patentes". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Eye-level mix-up between "patentes" and "potente" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "patentes" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "potente" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #268,782 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "patentes" and "potente" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "polenta vs potente". 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 #268,782 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