vuelavsvueltaWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: vuela is a verb, vuelta is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“vuela” is a verb and “vuelta” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#8,603
“vuela” frequency rank
#584
“vuelta” frequency rank
9187
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature vuela vuelta
Definition Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de volar. Movimiento que se hace sobre sí mismo hasta quedar en una posición inversa.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set vuela and vuelta apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
vuela
6 ch
vuelta

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: vuela is [ˈbwela] while vuelta is [ˈbwel̪t̪a]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 9187, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

vuela is recorded at frequency rank #8,603, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈbwela]. vuelta is at rank #584, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈbwel̪t̪a].

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 9187, this pair ranks #302,687 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of vuela vs vuelta

Shared letters: aeluv. Private to "vuela": -. Private to "vuelta": t.

"vuela" · 5 letters · shape CVVCV  ·  "vuelta" · 6 letters · shape CVVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • vuelabuela · uvela · veula · vueal · vuella · vulea · vvuela
  • vueltabuelta · uvelta · veulta · vuelat · vuellta · vueltta · vuetla · vuleta

Frequency comparison

vuela#8,603
vuelta#584

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "vuela" and "vuelta" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "vuela" is a verb and "vuelta" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "vuela" or "vuelta"?
"vuelta" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #584 in our Spanish list, against #8,603 for "vuela". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering vuela vs vuelta

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

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