bateovsbatesWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: bateo is a verb, bates is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“bateo” is a verb and “bates” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#43,418
“bateo” frequency rank
#23,320
“bates” frequency rank
66738
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature bateo bates
Definition Primera persona del singular (yo) del presente de indicativo de batear. Forma del plural de bate.

Where the eye mixes bateo and bates

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.

5 ch
bateo
5 ch
bates

Look-alike desk: bateo vs bates

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: bateo is [baˈt̪eo] while bates is [ˈbat̪es]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - o in “bateo” becomes s in “bates”, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 66738, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

bateo is recorded at frequency rank #43,418, classified as averb, pronounced [baˈt̪eo]. bates is at rank #23,320, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈbat̪es].

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 66738, this pair ranks #39,019 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of bateo vs bates

Shared letters: abet. Private to "bateo": o. Private to "bates": s.

"bateo" · 5 letters · shape CVCVV  ·  "bates" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • bateoabteo · batoe · batteo · bbateo · btaeo · vateo
  • batesabtes · baets · batess · batse · battes · bbates · btaes · vates

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "bateo" for "bates" ever safe?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "bateo" is a verb and "bates" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Frequency check: "bateo" vs "bates" - which ranks higher?
"bates" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #23,320 in our Spanish list, against #43,418 for "bateo". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Eye-level mix-up between "bateo" and "bates" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "bateo" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "bates" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #39,019 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "bateo" and "bates" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "bane vs bateo". 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 #39,019 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