acústicavsacústicoWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: acústica is a noun, acústico is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“acústica” is a noun and “acústico” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#18,429
“acústica” frequency rank
#22,558
“acústico” frequency rank
40987
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature acústica acústico
Definition Propiedades particulares de una locación con respecto a la propagación del sonido dentro de sus límites. Perteneciente o relacionado con la audición.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set acústica and acústico apart are highlighted. They share 7 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

8 ch
acústica
8 ch
acústico

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: acústica is [aˈkust̪ika] while acústico is [aˈkust̪iko]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - a in “acústica” becomes o in “acústico”, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 40987, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

acústica is recorded at frequency rank #18,429, classified as anoun, pronounced [aˈkust̪ika]. acústico is at rank #22,558, tagged as anadj, pronounced [aˈkust̪iko].

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 40987, this pair ranks #156,123 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of acústica vs acústico

Shared letters: acistú. Private to "acústica": -. Private to "acústico": o.

"acústica" · 8 letters · shape VCVCCVCV  ·  "acústico" · 8 letters · shape VCVCCVCV

Frequency comparison

acústica#18,429
acústico#22,558

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "acústica" and "acústico" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "acústica" is a noun and "acústico" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "acústica" or "acústico"?
"acústica" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #18,429 in our Spanish list, against #22,558 for "acústico". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering acústica vs acústico

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

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