Which to use
“Vigil” is a name and “vigila” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #38,450
- “Vigil” frequency rank
- #19,597
- “vigila” frequency rank
- 58047
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Vigil | vigila |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Apellido. | Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de vigilar. |
Where the eye mixes Vigil and vigila
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses Vigil with vigila
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Vigil is [biˈxil] while vigila is [biˈxila]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “Vigil” sits inside “vigila”, and the parts of speech differ too (name vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 58047, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Vigil is recorded at frequency rank #38,450, classified as aname, pronounced [biˈxil]. vigila is at rank #19,597, tagged as averb, pronounced [biˈxila].
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 58047, this pair ranks #67,995 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of Vigil vs vigila
Shared letters: gilv. Private to "Vigil": -. Private to "vigila": a.
"Vigil" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC · "vigila" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "Vigil" and "vigila" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "Vigil" or "vigila"?
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 "Vigil" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "vigila" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #67,995 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Vigil" and "vigila" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Vigil vs Vogel". 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 #67,995 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.