primeravsprimerasWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#177
“primera” frequency rank
#1,359
“primeras” frequency rank
1536
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature primera primeras
Definition De una sucesión de cosas la que ocurre o tiene lugar antes que las demás. Forma femenina de primero. Forma del femenino plural de primero.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set primera and primeras apart are highlighted. They share 7 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

7 ch
primera
8 ch
primeras

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. primera ([pɾiˈmeɾa]) and primeras ([pɾiˈmeɾas]) 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) - “primera” sits inside “primeras”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 1536, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

primera is recorded at frequency rank #177, classified as anadj, pronounced [pɾiˈmeɾa]. primeras is at rank #1,359, tagged as anadj, pronounced [pɾiˈmeɾas].

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 1536, this pair ranks #321,888 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of primera vs primeras

Shared letters: aeimpr. Private to "primera": -. Private to "primeras": s.

"primera" · 7 letters · shape CCVCVCV  ·  "primeras" · 8 letters · shape CCVCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • primerapirmera · pprimera · priemra · primear · primerra · primmera · primrea · prmiera
  • primeraspirmeras · pprimeras · priemras · primears · primerass · primerras · primersa · primmeras

Frequency comparison

primera#177
primeras#1,359

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "primera" and "primeras" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([pɾiˈmeɾa] versus [pɾiˈmeɾas]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "primera" or "primeras"?
"primera" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #177 in our Spanish list, against #1,359 for "primeras". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering primera vs primeras

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “primera” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list