abusovsausWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#3,456
“abuso” frequency rank
#33,949
“aus” frequency rank
37405
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature abuso aus
Definition Acción y efecto de abusar. Forma del plural de au.

Where the eye mixes abuso and aus

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.

5 ch
abuso
3 ch
aus

Visual trap between abuso and aus

A purely visual mix-up. abuso ([aˈβ̞uso]) and aus ([aws]) 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 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 37405, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

abuso is recorded at frequency rank #3,456, classified as anoun, pronounced [aˈβ̞uso]. aus is at rank #33,949, tagged as anoun, pronounced [aws].

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 37405, this pair ranks #175,487 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of abuso vs aus

Shared letters: asu. Private to "abuso": bo. Private to "aus": -.

"abuso" · 5 letters · shape VCVCV  ·  "aus" · 3 letters · shape VVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • abusoabbuso · absuo · abuos · abusso · aubso · avuso · bauso

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "abuso" and "aus" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([aˈβ̞uso] versus [aws]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "abuso" vs "aus" - which ranks higher?
"abuso" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,456 in our Spanish list, against #33,949 for "aus". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "abuso" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "aus" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #175,487 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "abuso" and "aus" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "apis vs aus". 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 #175,487 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