Which to use
“polilla” and “polillas” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #32,810
- “polilla” frequency rank
- #46,737
- “polillas” frequency rank
- 79547
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | polilla | polillas |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Mariposa nocturna de un centímetro de largo, cenicienta, con una mancha negra en las alas, que son horizontales y estrechas, cabeza amarillenta y antenas casi verticales. Su larva, de unos dos milímetros de longitud, se alimenta de borra y hace una especie de capullo, destruyendo para ello la materia en donde anida, que suele ser de lana, tejidos, pieles, papel, etc. | Forma del plural de polilla. |
Where the eye mixes polilla and polillas
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. polilla runs 7 letters (CVCVCCV) against polillas's 8 (CVCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses polilla with polillas
A purely visual mix-up. polilla ([poˈliʝa]) and polillas ([poˈliʝas]) 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 extra letter(s) - “polilla” sits inside “polillas”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 79547, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
polilla is recorded at frequency rank #32,810, classified as anoun, pronounced [poˈliʝa]. polillas is at rank #46,737, tagged as anoun, pronounced [poˈliʝas].
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 79547, this pair ranks #12,842 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of polilla vs polillas
Shared letters: ailop. Private to "polilla": -. Private to "polillas": s.
"polilla" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCCV · "polillas" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "polilla" and "polillas" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "polilla" or "polillas"?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "polilla" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "polillas" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #12,842 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "polilla" and "polillas" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "palillos vs polillas". 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 #12,842 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.