vacantesvsvolantesWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#13,813
“vacantes” frequency rank
#17,013
“volantes” frequency rank
30826
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature vacantes volantes
Definition Forma del plural de vacante. Forma del plural de volante.

Where the eye mixes vacantes and volantes

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. vacantes and volantes follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCVCCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.

8 ch
vacantes
8 ch
volantes

Why the eye confuses vacantes with volantes

A purely visual mix-up. vacantes ([baˈkãn̪t̪es]) and volantes ([boˈlãn̪t̪es]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 30826, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

vacantes is recorded at frequency rank #13,813, classified as anadj, pronounced [baˈkãn̪t̪es]. volantes is at rank #17,013, tagged as anadj, pronounced [boˈlãn̪t̪es].

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 30826, this pair ranks #210,118 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of vacantes vs volantes

Shared letters: aenstv. Private to "vacantes": c. Private to "volantes": lo.

"vacantes" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVC  ·  "volantes" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • vacantes ← avcantes · bacantes · vaacntes · vacanets · vacanntes · vacantess · vacantse · vacanttes
  • volantes ← bolantes · ovlantes · vloantes · voalntes · volanets · volanntes · volantess · volantse

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "vacantes" and "volantes" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([baˈkãn̪t̪es] versus [boˈlãn̪t̪es]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "vacantes" or "volantes"?
"vacantes" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #13,813 in our Spanish list, against #17,013 for "volantes". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "vacantes" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "volantes" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #210,118 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "vacantes" and "volantes" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "volantes vs votante". 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 #210,118 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