Which to use
“vacías” is an adjective and “vainas” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #9,556
- “vacías” frequency rank
- #18,113
- “vainas” frequency rank
- 27669
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | vacías | vainas |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Forma del femenino plural de vacío. | Forma del plural de vaina. |
Where the eye mixes vacías and vainas
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. vacías (CVCVVC) and vainas (CVVCVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Visual trap between vacías and vainas
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: vacías is [baˈsias] while vainas is [ˈbajnas]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 27669, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
vacías is recorded at frequency rank #9,556, classified as anadj, pronounced [baˈsias]. vainas is at rank #18,113, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈbajnas].
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 27669, this pair ranks #225,724 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of vacías vs vainas
Shared letters: asv. Private to "vacías": cí. Private to "vainas": in.
"vacías" · 6 letters · shape CVCVVC · "vainas" · 6 letters · shape CVVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- vainas ← avinas · bainas · vaians · vainass · vainnas · vainsa · vanias · vianas
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "vacías" for "vainas" ever safe?
In ordinary Spanish text, does "vacías" or "vainas" show up more?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "vacías" and "vainas" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "vacías" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "vainas" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #225,724 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "vacías" and "vainas" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "vaginas vs vainas". 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 #225,724 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.