peoresvspiresTell them apart

Quick tell: peores is a adjective, pires is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“peores” is an adjective and “pires” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#3,004
“peores” frequency rank
#47,328
“pires” frequency rank
50332
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature peores pires
Definition Forma del plural de peor. Segunda persona del singular (tú) del presente de subjuntivo de pirar o de pirarse.

Where the eye mixes peores and pires

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. peores runs 6 letters (CVVCVC) against pires's 5 (CVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

6 ch
peores
5 ch
pires

Look-alike desk: peores vs pires

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: peores is [peˈoɾes] while pires is [ˈpiɾes]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 50332, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

peores is recorded at frequency rank #3,004, classified as anadj, pronounced [peˈoɾes]. pires is at rank #47,328, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈpiɾes].

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 50332, this pair ranks #103,771 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of peores vs pires

Shared letters: eprs. Private to "peores": o. Private to "pires": i.

"peores" · 6 letters · shape CVVCVC  ·  "pires" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • peoresepores · peoers · peoress · peorres · peorse · peroes · poeres · ppeores
  • piresipres · piers · piress · pirres · pirse · ppires · pries

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "peores" and "pires" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "peores" is an adjective and "pires" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Frequency check: "peores" vs "pires" - which ranks higher?
"peores" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,004 in our Spanish list, against #47,328 for "pires". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

After this comparison

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "peores" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "pires" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #103,771 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "peores" and "pires" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "pires vs prey". 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 #103,771 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