propensavspropinaTell them apart

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

Which to use

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

#42,093
“propensa” frequency rank
#17,254
“propina” frequency rank
59347
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature propensa propina
Definition Forma del femenino singular de propenso. Pequeña cantidad de dinero que se da a cambio de un servicio además e independientemente del precio o salario convenido.

Where the eye mixes propensa and propina

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence.

8 ch
propensa
7 ch
propina

Visual trap between propensa and propina

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: propensa is [pɾoˈpẽnsa] while propina is [pɾoˈpina]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 59347, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

propensa is recorded at frequency rank #42,093, classified as anadj, pronounced [pɾoˈpẽnsa]. propina is at rank #17,254, tagged as anoun, pronounced [pɾoˈpina].

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 59347, this pair ranks #62,950 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of propensa vs propina

Shared letters: anopr. Private to "propensa": es. Private to "propina": i.

"propensa" · 8 letters · shape CCVCVCCV  ·  "propina" · 7 letters · shape CCVCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • propensaporpensa · ppropensa · proepnsa · propenas · propennsa · propesna · propnesa · proppensa
  • propinaporpina · ppropina · proipna · propian · propinna · propnia · proppina · prpoina

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "propensa" and "propina" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "propensa" is an adjective and "propina" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
In ordinary Spanish text, does "propensa" or "propina" show up more?
"propina" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #17,254 in our Spanish list, against #42,093 for "propensa". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

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 "propensa" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "propina" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #62,950 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "propensa" and "propina" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "propensa vs propensas". 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 #62,950 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