pilaresvspulgaresTell them apart

Which to use

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

#9,517
“pilares” frequency rank
#41,030
“pulgares” frequency rank
50547
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature pilares pulgares
Definition Forma del plural de pilar. Forma del plural de pulgar.

Where the eye mixes pilares and pulgares

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

7 ch
pilares
8 ch
pulgares

Look-alike desk: pilares vs pulgares

A purely visual mix-up. pilares ([piˈlaɾes]) and pulgares ([pulˈɣ̞aɾes]) 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 50547, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

pilares is recorded at frequency rank #9,517, classified as anoun, pronounced [piˈlaɾes]. pulgares is at rank #41,030, tagged as anoun, pronounced [pulˈɣ̞aɾes].

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 50547, this pair ranks #102,624 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of pilares vs pulgares

Shared letters: aelprs. Private to "pilares": i. Private to "pulgares": gu.

"pilares" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC  ·  "pulgares" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • pilaresiplares · pialres · pilaers · pilaress · pilarres · pilarse · pillares · pilraes
  • pulgaresplugares · ppulgares · puglares · pulagres · pulgaers · pulgaress · pulgarres · pulgarse

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "pilares" for "pulgares" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([piˈlaɾes] versus [pulˈɣ̞aɾes]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "pilares" vs "pulgares" - which ranks higher?
"pilares" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #9,517 in our Spanish list, against #41,030 for "pulgares". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "pilares" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "pulgares" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #102,624 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "pilares" and "pulgares" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "polares vs pulgares". 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 #102,624 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