seasvsselvasTell them apart

Quick tell: seas is a verb, selvas is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“seas” is a verb and “selvas” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#2,050
“seas” frequency rank
#17,546
“selvas” frequency rank
19596
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature seas selvas
Definition Segunda persona del singular (tú) del presente de subjuntivo de ser. Forma del plural de selva.

Where the eye mixes seas and selvas

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

4 ch
seas
6 ch
selvas

Look-alike desk: seas vs selvas

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: seas is [ˈseas] while selvas is [ˈselβ̞as]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 19596, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

seas is recorded at frequency rank #2,050, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈseas]. selvas is at rank #17,546, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈselβ̞as].

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 19596, this pair ranks #263,073 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of seas vs selvas

Shared letters: aes. Private to "seas": -. Private to "selvas": lv.

"seas" · 4 letters · shape CVVC  ·  "selvas" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • seasceas · saes · seass · sesa · sseas
  • selvascelvas · eslvas · selavs · selbas · sellvas · selvass · selvsa · selvvas

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "seas" and "selvas" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "seas" is a verb and "selvas" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Frequency check: "seas" vs "selvas" - which ranks higher?
"seas" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,050 in our Spanish list, against #17,546 for "selvas". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "seas" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "selvas" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #263,073 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "seas" and "selvas" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "selvas vs solías". 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 #263,073 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