selectivavsselectivasTell them apart

Which to use

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

#16,976
“selectiva” frequency rank
#43,257
“selectivas” frequency rank
60233
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature selectiva selectivas
Definition Forma del femenino de selectivo. Forma del femenino plural de selectivo.

Where the eye mixes selectiva and selectivas

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 9 letters in sequence.

9 ch
selectiva
10 ch
selectivas

Visual trap between selectiva and selectivas

A purely visual mix-up. selectiva ([selekˈt̪iβ̞a]) and selectivas ([selekˈt̪iβ̞as]) 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) - “selectiva” sits inside “selectivas”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 60233, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

selectiva is recorded at frequency rank #16,976, classified as anadj, pronounced [selekˈt̪iβ̞a]. selectivas is at rank #43,257, tagged as anadj, pronounced [selekˈt̪iβ̞as].

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 60233, this pair ranks #59,677 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of selectiva vs selectivas

Shared letters: aceilstv. Private to "selectiva": -. Private to "selectivas": -.

"selectiva" · 9 letters · shape CVCVCCVCV  ·  "selectivas" · 10 letters · shape CVCVCCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • selectivacelectiva · eslectiva · seelctiva · selcetiva · selecctiva · selecitva · selectiav · selectiba
  • selectivascelectivas · eslectivas · seelctivas · selcetivas · selecctivas · selecitvas · selectiavs · selectibas

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "selectiva" and "selectivas" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([selekˈt̪iβ̞a] versus [selekˈt̪iβ̞as]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "selectiva" vs "selectivas" - which ranks higher?
"selectiva" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #16,976 in our Spanish list, against #43,257 for "selectivas". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "selectiva" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "selectivas" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #59,677 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "selectiva" and "selectivas" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "selectas vs selectivas". 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 #59,677 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