peinesvspequesWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: peines is a noun, peques is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“peines” is a noun and “peques” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#49,852
“peines” frequency rank
#30,186
“peques” frequency rank
80038
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature peines peques
Definition Forma del plural de peine. Segunda persona del singular (tú) del presente de subjuntivo de pecar.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set peines and peques apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
peines
6 ch
peques

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: peines is [ˈpejnes] while peques is [ˈpekes]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 80038, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

peines is recorded at frequency rank #49,852, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈpejnes]. peques is at rank #30,186, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈpekes].

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 80038, this pair ranks #12,193 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of peines vs peques

Shared letters: eps. Private to "peines": in. Private to "peques": qu.

"peines" · 6 letters · shape CVVCVC  ·  "peques" · 6 letters · shape CVCVVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • peinesepines · peiens · peiness · peinnes · penies · ppeines
  • pequesepques · peqeus · peqques · pequess · pequse · peuqes · ppeques · pqeues

Frequency comparison

peines#49,852
peques#30,186

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "peines" and "peques" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "peines" is a noun and "peques" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "peines" or "peques"?
"peques" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #30,186 in our Spanish list, against #49,852 for "peines". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering peines vs peques

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “peines”; for a verb, it's “peques”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “peines” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list