Which to use
“bastión” and “bastos” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #21,572
- “bastión” frequency rank
- #32,518
- “bastos” frequency rank
- 54090
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | bastión | bastos |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Una fortificación exterior, situada generalmente en las esquinas de los muros de una fortaleza, con el fin de defender. | En la baraja española, uno de los cuatro palos, representado por varas o bastones nudosos. |
Where the eye mixes bastión and bastos
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. bastión runs 7 letters (CVCCVVC) against bastos's 6 (CVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses bastión with bastos
A purely visual mix-up. bastión ([basˈt̪jõn]) and bastos ([ˈbast̪os]) 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 54090, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
bastión is recorded at frequency rank #21,572, classified as anoun, pronounced [basˈt̪jõn]. bastos is at rank #32,518, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈbast̪os].
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 54090, this pair ranks #84,840 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of bastión vs bastos
Shared letters: abst. Private to "bastión": inó. Private to "bastos": o.
"bastión" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVVC · "bastos" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- bastos ← abstos · basots · basstos · bastoss · bastso · basttos · batsos · bbastos
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "bastión" and "bastos" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "bastión" vs "bastos" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "bastión" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "bastos" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #84,840 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "bastión" and "bastos" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "bardos vs bastos". 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 #84,840 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.