propósitovspropósitosConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#1,527
“propósito” frequency rank
#8,301
“propósitos” frequency rank
9828
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature propósito propósitos
Definition Deseo o ánimo de realizar o no realizar alguna cosa. Forma del plural de propósito.

Where the eye mixes propósito and propósitos

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 9 letters in sequence. propósito runs 9 letters (CCVCVCVCV) against propósitos's 10 (CCVCVCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

9 ch
propósito
10 ch
propósitos

Look-alike desk: propósito vs propósitos

A purely visual mix-up. propósito ([pɾoˈposit̪o]) and propósitos ([pɾoˈposit̪os]) 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) - “propósito” sits inside “propósitos”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 9828, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

propósito is recorded at frequency rank #1,527, classified as anoun, pronounced [pɾoˈposit̪o]. propósitos is at rank #8,301, tagged as anoun, pronounced [pɾoˈposit̪os].

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 9828, this pair ranks #300,701 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of propósito vs propósitos

Shared letters: ioprstó. Private to "propósito": -. Private to "propósitos": -.

"propósito" · 9 letters · shape CCVCVCVCV  ·  "propósitos" · 10 letters · shape CCVCVCVCVC

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "propósito" and "propósitos" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([pɾoˈposit̪o] versus [pɾoˈposit̪os]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary Spanish text, does "propósito" or "propósitos" show up more?
"propósito" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,527 in our Spanish list, against #8,301 for "propósitos". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "propósito" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "propósitos" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #300,701 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "propósito" and "propósitos" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "propósitos vs propusimos". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #300,701 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