Which to use
“atrás” is an adverb and “atroz” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #907
- “atrás” frequency rank
- #16,016
- “atroz” frequency rank
- 16923
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | atrás | atroz |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Denota la parte posterior de alguna cosa o lo que está o queda a las espaldas. | Cruel, inhumano. |
Where the eye mixes atrás and atroz
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. atrás and atroz follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (VCCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Why the eye confuses atrás with atroz
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: atrás is [aˈt̪ɾas] while atroz is [aˈt̪ɾos]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (adverb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 16923, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
atrás is recorded at frequency rank #907, classified as anadv, pronounced [aˈt̪ɾas]. atroz is at rank #16,016, tagged as anadj, pronounced [aˈt̪ɾos].
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 16923, this pair ranks #274,234 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of atrás vs atroz
Shared letters: art. Private to "atrás": sá. Private to "atroz": oz.
"atrás" · 5 letters · shape VCCVC · "atroz" · 5 letters · shape VCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- atroz ← artoz · atorz · atrozz · atrroz · atrzo · attroz · taroz
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "atrás" and "atroz" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "atrás" or "atroz"?
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 "atroz" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #274,234 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "atrás" and "atroz" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "ataron vs atroz". 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 #274,234 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.