Which to use
“patilla” and “polilla” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #47,984
- “patilla” frequency rank
- #32,810
- “polilla” frequency rank
- 80794
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | patilla | polilla |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Pequeña extensión con forma de pata de un objeto, generalmente añadida para fines de sujeción. | Mariposa nocturna de un centímetro de largo, cenicienta, con una mancha negra en las alas, que son horizontales y estrechas, cabeza amarillenta y antenas casi verticales. Su larva, de unos dos milímetros de longitud, se alimenta de borra y hace una especie de capullo, destruyendo para ello la materia en donde anida, que suele ser de lana, tejidos, pieles, papel, etc. |
Where the eye mixes patilla and polilla
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. patilla and polilla follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCVCCV). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Look-alike desk: patilla vs polilla
A purely visual mix-up. patilla ([paˈt̪iʝa]) and polilla ([poˈliʝa]) 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 80794, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
patilla is recorded at frequency rank #47,984, classified as anoun, pronounced [paˈt̪iʝa]. polilla is at rank #32,810, tagged as anoun, pronounced [poˈliʝa].
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 80794, this pair ranks #11,225 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of patilla vs polilla
Shared letters: ailp. Private to "patilla": t. Private to "polilla": o.
"patilla" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCCV · "polilla" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "patilla" and "polilla" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary Spanish text, does "patilla" or "polilla" show up more?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "patilla" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "polilla" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #11,225 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "patilla" and "polilla" 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 #11,225 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.