yo

[ˈʝo]

/[ˈʝo]/ pron

The verdict

“yo” sits in 20 confusable pairs (corpus #38) as a pronoun. The look-alike neighbours are the real trap.

#38
frequency rank, Spanish
177
“Y” headwords
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 2, 2026) - Úsase para designar al hablante o enunciador como sujeto de la frase.

Corpus desk

Index ES-yo · yo · Spanish

yo · rank #38 · 0 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-CORE #38
  • LEN-SHORT 2 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 177
  • PHOTO-FINISH cuando

Nearest frequency peer: cuando (-1 rank slots)

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Frequency neighbourhood for “yo”

Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)

corpus weight

What this shows Bars show where “yo” sits against the nearest ranked Spanish headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 2, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

yo vs yu
50% similar
yo vs you
67% similar
yo vs yun
33% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for yo
PropertyValue
Headwordyo
LanguageSpanish
Part of speechPronoun
IPA[ˈʝo]
Letters2
Frequency rank#38
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “yo” sits in Spanish frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). yo lands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Easy to mix with look-alikes

The spelling risk for yo is neighbouring look-alikes ("yu", "you", …), not just typos; it is apronoun pronounced [ˈʝo]. Frequency #38 among 177 “Y” headwords. Gloss: "Úsase para designar al hablante o enunciador como sujeto de la frase.".

No generated misspelling entries exist for yo in our index, a sign its spelling follows regular Spanish conventions. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "yu", "you", "yun", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Our source data has no etymology on file for this entry, so spelling patterns must be inferred from the word's phoneme-to-grapheme mapping rather than from a documented borrowing chain. The correct Spanish form is yo, spelled Y-O.

Definition

  1. 1
    Úsase para designar al hablante o enunciador como sujeto de la frase.

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

These source excerpts show how yo appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. hasta yo, que soy entrenador, estoy cansado.

This word in other languages

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 Spanish corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

PlainSpell is rendered directly from structured Wiktionary extracts and open word-frequency lists, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of September 2, 2026. Primary sources: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) and FrequencyWords.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "yo"?
"yo" is spelled Y-O. The IPA pronunciation is [ˈʝo].
What does "yo" mean?
As a pronoun, "yo" means: Úsase para designar al hablante o enunciador como sujeto de la frase.
What words are commonly confused with "yo"?
"yo" is commonly confused with "yu", "you", "yun". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "yo"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "yo" is [ˈʝo]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "yo" come from?
"yo" is a Spanish word. PlainSpell's reference spans five languages -- English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German -- with definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for each.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.
Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list