vacíasvsviciosWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: vacías is a adjective, vicios is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“vacías” is an adjective and “vicios” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#9,556
“vacías” frequency rank
#12,280
“vicios” frequency rank
21836
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature vacías vicios
Definition Forma del femenino plural de vacío. Forma del plural de vicio.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set vacías and vicios apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
vacías
6 ch
vicios

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: vacías is [baˈsias] while vicios is [ˈbisjos]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 3 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 21836, 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]. vicios is at rank #12,280, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈbisjos].

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 21836, this pair ranks #253,131 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of vacías vs vicios

Shared letters: csv. Private to "vacías": . Private to "vicios": io.

"vacías" · 6 letters · shape CVCVVC  ·  "vicios" · 6 letters · shape CVCVVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • viciosbicios · ivcios · vciios · viccios · vicioss · viciso · vicois · viicos

Frequency comparison

vacías#9,556
vicios#12,280

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "vacías" and "vicios" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "vacías" is an adjective and "vicios" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "vacías" or "vicios"?
"vacías" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #9,556 in our Spanish list, against #12,280 for "vicios". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering vacías vs vicios

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need an adjective, it's “vacías”; for a noun, it's “vicios”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “vacías” 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