bollovsbultoWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#29,518
“bollo” frequency rank
#15,792
“bulto” frequency rank
45310
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature bollo bulto
Definition Pastel pequeño y esponjoso. Paquete o bolsa grande que se emplea para el transporte de mercancía, especialmente el mayorista, o para el equipaje en los viajes.

Where the eye mixes bollo and bulto

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

5 ch
bollo
5 ch
bulto

Look-alike desk: bollo vs bulto

A purely visual mix-up. bollo ([ˈboʝo]) and bulto ([ˈbul̪t̪o]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 45310, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

bollo is recorded at frequency rank #29,518, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈboʝo]. bulto is at rank #15,792, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈbul̪t̪o].

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 45310, this pair ranks #132,163 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of bollo vs bulto

Shared letters: blo. Private to "bollo": -. Private to "bulto": tu.

"bollo" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV  ·  "bulto" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • bollobbollo · blolo · bolol · obllo · vollo
  • bultobbulto · bluto · bullto · bulot · bultto · butlo · ublto · vulto

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "bollo" and "bulto" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ˈboʝo] versus [ˈbul̪t̪o]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "bollo" or "bulto"?
"bulto" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #15,792 in our Spanish list, against #29,518 for "bollo". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "bollo" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "bulto" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #132,163 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "bollo" and "bulto" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Bilbo vs bollo". 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 #132,163 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