candidatovscandidatosWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#1,438
“candidato” frequency rank
#2,013
“candidatos” frequency rank
3451
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature candidato candidatos
Definition Aspirante a alguna dignidad o cargo. Forma del plural de candidato.

Where the eye mixes candidato and candidatos

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 9 letters in sequence. candidato runs 9 letters (CVCCVCVCV) against candidatos's 10 (CVCCVCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

9 ch
candidato
10 ch
candidatos

Visual trap between candidato and candidatos

A purely visual mix-up. candidato ([kãn̪d̪iˈð̞at̪o]) and candidatos ([kãn̪d̪iˈð̞at̪os]) 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 extra letter(s) - “candidato” sits inside “candidatos”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 3451, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

candidato is recorded at frequency rank #1,438, classified as anoun, pronounced [kãn̪d̪iˈð̞at̪o]. candidatos is at rank #2,013, tagged as anoun, pronounced [kãn̪d̪iˈð̞at̪os].

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 3451, this pair ranks #318,281 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of candidato vs candidatos

Shared letters: acdinot. Private to "candidato": -. Private to "candidatos": s.

"candidato" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCVCV  ·  "candidatos" · 10 letters · shape CVCCVCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • candidato ← acndidato · cadnidato · canddiato · canddidato · candiadto · candidaot · candidatto · candiddato
  • candidatos ← acndidatos · cadnidatos · canddiatos · canddidatos · candiadtos · candidaots · candidatoss · candidatso

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "candidato" and "candidatos" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([kãn̪d̪iˈð̞at̪o] versus [kãn̪d̪iˈð̞at̪os]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "candidato" or "candidatos"?
"candidato" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,438 in our Spanish list, against #2,013 for "candidatos". 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 "candidato" and "candidatos" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "candidato" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "candidatos" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #318,281 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "candidato" and "candidatos" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Cándida vs candidato". 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 #318,281 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