varillavsvarillasTell them apart

Which to use

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

#31,587
“varilla” frequency rank
#33,889
“varillas” frequency rank
65476
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature varilla varillas
Definition Barra larga y delgada. Plural de varilla.

Where the eye mixes varilla and varillas

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. varilla runs 7 letters (CVCVCCV) against varillas's 8 (CVCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

7 ch
varilla
8 ch
varillas

Why the eye confuses varilla with varillas

A purely visual mix-up. varilla ([baˈɾiʝa]) and varillas ([baˈɾiʝas]) 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) - “varilla” sits inside “varillas”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 65476, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

varilla is recorded at frequency rank #31,587, classified as anoun, pronounced [baˈɾiʝa]. varillas is at rank #33,889, tagged as anoun, pronounced [baˈɾiʝas].

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 65476, this pair ranks #42,530 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of varilla vs varillas

Shared letters: ailrv. Private to "varilla": -. Private to "varillas": s.

"varilla" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCCV  ·  "varillas" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • varilla ← avrilla · barilla · vairlla · varila · varilal · varlila · varrilla · vrailla
  • varillas ← avrillas · barillas · vairllas · varilals · varilas · varillass · varillsa · varlilas

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "varilla" for "varillas" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([baˈɾiʝa] versus [baˈɾiʝas]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "varilla" vs "varillas" - which ranks higher?
"varilla" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #31,587 in our Spanish list, against #33,889 for "varillas". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Eye-level mix-up between "varilla" and "varillas" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "varilla" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "varillas" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #42,530 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "varilla" and "varillas" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "vacila vs varilla". 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 #42,530 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