Which to use
“vacías” is an adjective and “vais” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #9,556
- “vacías” frequency rank
- #7,934
- “vais” frequency rank
- 17490
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | vacías | vais |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Forma del femenino plural de vacío. | Segunda persona del plural (vosotros, vosotras) del presente de indicativo de ir o de irse. |
Where the eye mixes vacías and vais
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. vacías runs 6 letters (CVCVVC) against vais's 4 (CVVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between vacías and vais
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: vacías is [baˈsias] while vais is [ˈbajs]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 17490, 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]. vais is at rank #7,934, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈbajs].
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 17490, this pair ranks #271,872 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of vacías vs vais
Shared letters: asv. Private to "vacías": cí. Private to "vais": i.
"vacías" · 6 letters · shape CVCVVC · "vais" · 4 letters · shape CVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- vais ← bais · vaiss · vasi · vvais
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "vacías" and "vais" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "vacías" vs "vais" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "vacías" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "vais" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #271,872 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "vacías" and "vais" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "vacías vs venías". 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 #271,872 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.