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Which to use

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

#3,609
“arco” frequency rank
#27,098
“arrow” frequency rank
30707
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature arco arrow
Definition Arma elaborada a partir de una barra material elástico amarrada por ambos extremos a una cuerda la cual se utiliza para impulsar flechas. Flecha, saeta.

Where the eye mixes arco and arrow

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

4 ch
arco
5 ch
arrow

Look-alike desk: arco vs arrow

A purely visual mix-up. arco ([ˈaɾko]) and arrow (/ˈæɹ.əʊ/) 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 30707, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

arco is recorded at frequency rank #3,609, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈaɾko]. arrow is at rank #27,098, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈæɹ.əʊ/.

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 30707, this pair ranks #210,691 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of arco vs arrow

Shared letters: aor. Private to "arco": c. Private to "arrow": w.

"arco" · 4 letters · shape VCCV  ·  "arrow" · 5 letters · shape VCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • arcoarcco · aroc · arrco · raco
  • arrowarorw · arow · arroww · arrwo · rarow

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "arco" and "arrow" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ˈaɾko] versus /ˈæɹ.əʊ/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "arco" vs "arrow" - which ranks higher?
"arco" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,609 in our Spanish list, against #27,098 for "arrow". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "arco" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "arrow" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #210,691 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "arco" and "arrow" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Arras vs arrow". 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 #210,691 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