ultimavsultimasWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#4,843
“ultima” frequency rank
#13,579
“ultimas” frequency rank
18422
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature ultima ultimas
Definition Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de ultimar. Segunda persona del singular (tú) del presente de indicativo de ultimar.

Where the spellings diverge

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

6 ch
ultima
7 ch
ultimas

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. ultima ([ul̪ˈt̪ima]) and ultimas ([ul̪ˈt̪imas]) 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) - “ultima” sits inside “ultimas”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 18422, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

ultima is recorded at frequency rank #4,843, classified as averb, pronounced [ul̪ˈt̪ima]. ultimas is at rank #13,579, tagged as averb, pronounced [ul̪ˈt̪imas].

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 18422, this pair ranks #267,977 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of ultima vs ultimas

Shared letters: ailmtu. Private to "ultima": -. Private to "ultimas": s.

"ultima" · 6 letters · shape VCCVCV  ·  "ultimas" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • ultimalutima · ulitma · ulltima · ultiam · ultimma · ultmia · ulttima · utlima
  • ultimaslutimas · ulitmas · ulltimas · ultiams · ultimass · ultimmas · ultimsa · ultmias

Frequency comparison

ultima#4,843
ultimas#13,579

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "ultima" and "ultimas" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ul̪ˈt̪ima] versus [ul̪ˈt̪imas]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "ultima" or "ultimas"?
"ultima" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #4,843 in our Spanish list, against #13,579 for "ultimas". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering ultima vs ultimas

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 “ultima” 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