pequeñasvspequeñoWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#1,647
“pequeñas” frequency rank
#713
“pequeño” frequency rank
2360
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature pequeñas pequeño
Definition Forma del femenino plural de pequeño. De tamaño reducido, menor a lo común o normal.

Where the eye mixes pequeñas and pequeño

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

8 ch
pequeñas
7 ch
pequeño

Why the eye confuses pequeñas with pequeño

A purely visual mix-up. pequeñas ([peˈkeɲas]) and pequeño ([peˈkeɲo]) 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 2360, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

pequeñas is recorded at frequency rank #1,647, classified as anadj, pronounced [peˈkeɲas]. pequeño is at rank #713, tagged as anadj, pronounced [peˈkeɲo].

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 2360, this pair ranks #320,475 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of pequeñas vs pequeño

Shared letters: epquñ. Private to "pequeñas": as. Private to "pequeño": o.

"pequeñas" · 8 letters · shape CVCVVCVC  ·  "pequeño" · 7 letters · shape CVCVVCV

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "pequeñas" for "pequeño" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([peˈkeɲas] versus [peˈkeɲo]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "pequeñas" or "pequeño"?
"pequeño" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #713 in our Spanish list, against #1,647 for "pequeñas". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "pequeñas" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "pequeño" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #320,475 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "pequeñas" and "pequeño" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "pequeñas vs peques". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #320,475 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