primeravspromesaWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: primera is a adjective, promesa is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“primera” is an adjective and “promesa” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#177
“primera” frequency rank
#3,950
“promesa” frequency rank
4127
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature primera promesa
Definition De una sucesión de cosas la que ocurre o tiene lugar antes que las demás. Forma femenina de primero. Seguridad dada a alguien de palabra o por escrito de que se dará o se hará algo.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set primera and promesa apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

7 ch
primera
7 ch
promesa

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

primera and promesa form a confusable pair in the Spanish index, two distinct headwords that are easily confused because they look alike, sound alike, or both. They share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 4127, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

primera is recorded at frequency rank #177, classified as anadj, pronounced [pɾiˈmeɾa]. promesa is at rank #3,950, tagged as anoun, pronounced [pɾoˈmesa].

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 4127, this pair ranks #316,801 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Frequency comparison

primera#177
promesa#3,950

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "primera" and "promesa" be used interchangeably?
No, "primera" and "promesa" have distinct meanings and cannot be swapped without changing the meaning of a sentence. Understanding the specific definition and context for each word is essential for correct usage.

Remembering primera vs promesa

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need an adjective, it's “primera”; for a noun, it's “promesa”.
  • 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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list