Which to use
“espiga” and “espinha” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #36,447
- “espiga” frequency rank
- #12,056
- “espinha” frequency rank
- 48503
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | espiga | espinha |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | parte das gramíneas que contém os grãos | termo vulgar para a coluna vertebral |
Where the eye mixes espiga and espinha
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. espiga runs 6 letters (VCCVCV) against espinha's 7 (VCCVCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: espiga vs espinha
A purely visual mix-up. espiga (/iʃ.ˈpi.ɡɐ/) and espinha (/iʃ.ˈpi.ɲɐ/) 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 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 48503, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
espiga is recorded at frequency rank #36,447, classified as anoun, pronounced /iʃ.ˈpi.ɡɐ/. espinha is at rank #12,056, tagged as anoun, pronounced /iʃ.ˈpi.ɲɐ/.
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 48503, this pair ranks #16,660 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of espiga vs espinha
Shared letters: aeips. Private to "espiga": g. Private to "espinha": hn.
"espiga" · 6 letters · shape VCCVCV · "espinha" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "espiga" and "espinha" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary Portuguese text, does "espiga" or "espinha" show up more?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "espiga" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "espinha" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #16,660 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "espiga" and "espinha" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "espiga vs espinal". 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 #16,660 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.