señalesvssexualesWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: señales is a noun, sexuales is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“señales” is a noun and “sexuales” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#3,149
“señales” frequency rank
#3,365
“sexuales” frequency rank
6514
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature señales sexuales
Definition Forma del plural de señal. Forma del plural de sexual.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set señales and sexuales apart are highlighted. They share 6 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

7 ch
señales
8 ch
sexuales

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: señales is [seˈɲales] while sexuales is [sekˈswales]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 6514, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

señales is recorded at frequency rank #3,149, classified as anoun, pronounced [seˈɲales]. sexuales is at rank #3,365, tagged as anadj, pronounced [sekˈswales].

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 6514, this pair ranks #310,534 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of señales vs sexuales

Shared letters: aels. Private to "señales": ñ. Private to "sexuales": ux.

"señales" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC  ·  "sexuales" · 8 letters · shape CVCVVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • sexualescexuales · esxuales · seuxales · sexaules · sexuaels · sexualess · sexualles · sexualse

Frequency comparison

señales#3,149
sexuales#3,365

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "señales" and "sexuales" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "señales" is a noun and "sexuales" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "señales" or "sexuales"?
"señales" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,149 in our Spanish list, against #3,365 for "sexuales". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering señales vs sexuales

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “señales”; for an adjective, it's “sexuales”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “señales” 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