publicavspublicasWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#2,362
“publica” frequency rank
#15,460
“publicas” frequency rank
17822
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature publica publicas
Definition Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de publicar. Segunda persona del singular (tú) del presente de indicativo de publicar.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set publica and publicas apart are highlighted. They share 7 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

7 ch
publica
8 ch
publicas

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. publica ([puˈβ̞lika]) and publicas ([puˈβ̞likas]) 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) - “publica” sits inside “publicas”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 17822, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

publica is recorded at frequency rank #2,362, classified as averb, pronounced [puˈβ̞lika]. publicas is at rank #15,460, tagged as averb, pronounced [puˈβ̞likas].

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 17822, this pair ranks #270,554 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of publica vs publicas

Shared letters: abcilpu. Private to "publica": -. Private to "publicas": s.

"publica" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCV  ·  "publicas" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • publicapbulica · ppublica · pubblica · pubilca · publcia · publiac · publicca · publlica
  • publicaspbulicas · ppublicas · pubblicas · pubilcas · publcias · publiacs · publicass · publiccas

Frequency comparison

publica#2,362
publicas#15,460

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "publica" and "publicas" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([puˈβ̞lika] versus [puˈβ̞likas]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "publica" or "publicas"?
"publica" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,362 in our Spanish list, against #15,460 for "publicas". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering publica vs publicas

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 “publica” 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