Which to use
“atrás” is an adverb and “atraso” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #907
- “atrás” frequency rank
- #17,350
- “atraso” frequency rank
- 18257
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | atrás | atraso |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Denota la parte posterior de alguna cosa o lo que está o queda a las espaldas. | Acción o efecto de atrasar y atrasarse. |
Where the eye mixes atrás and atraso
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. atrás runs 5 letters (VCCVC) against atraso's 6 (VCCVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: atrás vs atraso
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: atrás is [aˈt̪ɾas] while atraso is [aˈt̪ɾaso]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (adverb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 18257, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
atrás is recorded at frequency rank #907, classified as anadv, pronounced [aˈt̪ɾas]. atraso is at rank #17,350, tagged as anoun, pronounced [aˈt̪ɾaso].
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 18257, this pair ranks #268,685 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of atrás vs atraso
Shared letters: arst. Private to "atrás": á. Private to "atraso": o.
"atrás" · 5 letters · shape VCCVC · "atraso" · 6 letters · shape VCCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- atraso ← artaso · atarso · atraos · atrasso · atrraso · atrsao · attraso · taraso
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "atrás" for "atraso" ever safe?
Frequency check: "atrás" vs "atraso" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "atrás" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "atraso" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #268,685 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "atrás" and "atraso" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Arras vs atraso". 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 #268,685 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.