provisionalvsprovisionalesWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#6,818
“provisional” frequency rank
#20,781
“provisionales” frequency rank
27599
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature provisional provisionales
Definition Que perdura sólo hasta su sustitución por algo definitivo. Forma del plural de provisional.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set provisional and provisionales apart are highlighted. They share 11 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

11 ch
provisional
13 ch
provisionales

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. provisional ([pɾoβ̞isjoˈnal]) and provisionales ([pɾoβ̞isjoˈnales]) 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 2 extra letter(s) - “provisional” sits inside “provisionales”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 27599, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

provisional is recorded at frequency rank #6,818, classified as anadj, pronounced [pɾoβ̞isjoˈnal]. provisionales is at rank #20,781, tagged as anadj, pronounced [pɾoβ̞isjoˈnales].

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 27599, this pair ranks #226,035 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of provisional vs provisionales

Shared letters: ailnoprsv. Private to "provisional": -. Private to "provisionales": e.

"provisional" · 11 letters · shape CCVCVCVVCVC  ·  "provisionales" · 13 letters · shape CCVCVCVVCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • provisionalporvisional · pprovisional · probisional · proivsional · provicional · proviisonal · provisinoal · provisioanl
  • provisionalesporvisionales · pprovisionales · probisionales · proivsionales · provicionales · proviisonales · provisinoales · provisioanles

Frequency comparison

provisional#6,818
provisionales#20,781

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "provisional" and "provisionales" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([pɾoβ̞isjoˈnal] versus [pɾoβ̞isjoˈnales]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "provisional" or "provisionales"?
"provisional" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #6,818 in our Spanish list, against #20,781 for "provisionales". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering provisional vs provisionales

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 “provisional” 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