propinavspróximaConfusable pair

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

Which to use

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

#17,254
“propina” frequency rank
#1,618
“próxima” frequency rank
18872
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

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

Where the eye mixes propina and próxima

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.

7 ch
propina
7 ch
próxima

Look-alike desk: propina vs próxima

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: propina is [pɾoˈpina] while próxima is [ˈpɾoksima]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 3 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 18872, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

propina is recorded at frequency rank #17,254, classified as anoun, pronounced [pɾoˈpina]. próxima is at rank #1,618, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈpɾoksima].

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 18872, this pair ranks #266,128 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of propina vs próxima

Shared letters: aipr. Private to "propina": no. Private to "próxima": mxó.

"propina" · 7 letters · shape CCVCVCV  ·  "próxima" · 7 letters · shape CCVCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • propinaporpina · ppropina · proipna · propian · propinna · propnia · proppina · prpoina

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "propina" for "próxima" ever safe?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "propina" is a noun and "próxima" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
In ordinary Spanish text, does "propina" or "próxima" show up more?
"próxima" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,618 in our Spanish list, against #17,254 for "propina". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Useful next steps

Eye-level mix-up between "propina" and "próxima" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "propina" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "próxima" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #266,128 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "propina" and "próxima" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "propano vs propina". 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 #266,128 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