Which to use
“tumbas” is a noun and “tumbes” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #10,237
- “tumbas” frequency rank
- #39,507
- “tumbes” frequency rank
- 49744
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | tumbas | tumbes |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Forma del plural de tumba. | Segunda persona del singular (tú) del presente de subjuntivo de tumbar. |
Where the eye mixes tumbas and tumbes
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. tumbas and tumbes follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Why the eye confuses tumbas with tumbes
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: tumbas is [ˈt̪ũmbas] while tumbes is [ˈt̪ũmbes]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - a in “tumbas” becomes e in “tumbes”, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 49744, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
tumbas is recorded at frequency rank #10,237, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈt̪ũmbas]. tumbes is at rank #39,507, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈt̪ũmbes].
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 49744, this pair ranks #107,063 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of tumbas vs tumbes
Shared letters: bmstu. Private to "tumbas": a. Private to "tumbes": e.
"tumbas" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "tumbes" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "tumbas" for "tumbes" ever safe?
In ordinary Spanish text, does "tumbas" or "tumbes" show up more?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "tumbas" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "tumbes" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #107,063 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "tumbas" and "tumbes" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "tumbes vs turbas". 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 #107,063 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.