posteriorvsposterioresWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#2,796
“posterior” frequency rank
#4,821
“posteriores” frequency rank
7617
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature posterior posteriores
Definition Que fué o viene después. Forma del plural de posterior.

Where the eye mixes posterior and posteriores

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 9 letters in sequence. posterior runs 9 letters (CVCCVCVVC) against posteriores's 11 (CVCCVCVVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

9 ch
posterior
11 ch
posteriores

Why the eye confuses posterior with posteriores

A purely visual mix-up. posterior ([post̪eˈɾjoɾ]) and posteriores ([post̪eˈɾjoɾes]) 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 2 extra letter(s) - “posterior” sits inside “posteriores”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 7617, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

posterior is recorded at frequency rank #2,796, classified as anadj, pronounced [post̪eˈɾjoɾ]. posteriores is at rank #4,821, tagged as anadj, pronounced [post̪eˈɾjoɾes].

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 7617, this pair ranks #307,451 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of posterior vs posteriores

Shared letters: eioprst. Private to "posterior": -. Private to "posteriores": -.

"posterior" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCVVC  ·  "posteriores" · 11 letters · shape CVCCVCVVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • posterior ← opsterior · posetrior · possterior · posteiror · posteriorr · posteriro · posteroir · posterrior
  • posteriores ← opsteriores · posetriores · possteriores · posteirores · posterioers · posterioress · posteriorres · posteriorse

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "posterior" and "posteriores" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([post̪eˈɾjoɾ] versus [post̪eˈɾjoɾes]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "posterior" vs "posteriores" - which ranks higher?
"posterior" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,796 in our Spanish list, against #4,821 for "posteriores". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "posterior" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "posteriores" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #307,451 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "posterior" and "posteriores" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "postergar vs posterior". 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 #307,451 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