pilivspisConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#44,924
“pili” frequency rank
#19,527
“pis” frequency rank
64451
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature pili pis
Definition Forma del plural de pal ('palas'). Secreción líquida de los riñones, conducida a la vejiga por los uréteres y expelida por la uretra.

Where the eye mixes pili and pis

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence. pili runs 4 letters (CVCV) against pis's 3 (CVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

4 ch
pili
3 ch
pis

Visual trap between pili and pis

A purely visual mix-up. pili ([ˈpiː.li]) and pis ([ˈpis]) 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 64451, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

pili is recorded at frequency rank #44,924, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈpiː.li]. pis is at rank #19,527, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈpis].

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 64451, this pair ranks #45,556 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of pili vs pis

Shared letters: ip. Private to "pili": l. Private to "pis": s.

"pili" · 4 letters · shape CVCV  ·  "pis" · 3 letters · shape CVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • pili ← ipli · piil · pilli · plii · ppili

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "pili" and "pis" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ˈpiː.li] versus [ˈpis]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "pili" or "pis"?
"pis" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #19,527 in our Spanish list, against #44,924 for "pili". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "pili" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "pis" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #45,556 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "pili" and "pis" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "pele vs pili". 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 #45,556 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