Which to use
“pili” and “polis” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #44,924
- “pili” frequency rank
- #21,440
- “polis” frequency rank
- 66364
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | pili | polis |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Forma del plural de pal ('palas'). | Denominación dada a las ciudades-estado independientes de la antigua Grecia, surgidas en la Edad Oscura mediante un proceso de agregación de núcleos y grupos de población (anteriormente vinculados por el oikos o casa) denominado sinecismo. |
Where the eye mixes pili and polis
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. pili runs 4 letters (CVCV) against polis's 5 (CVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between pili and polis
A purely visual mix-up. pili ([ˈpiː.li]) and polis ([ˈpolis]) 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 66364, 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]. polis is at rank #21,440, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈpolis].
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 66364, this pair ranks #40,071 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of pili vs polis
Shared letters: ilp. Private to "pili": -. Private to "polis": os.
"pili" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "polis" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "pili" for "polis" ever safe?
Frequency check: "pili" vs "polis" - which ranks higher?
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 "pili" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "polis" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #40,071 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "pili" and "polis" 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 #40,071 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.