castillovscastillosWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#2,237
“castillo” frequency rank
#13,862
“castillos” frequency rank
16099
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature castillo castillos
Definition Recinto fortificado, típico de la arquitectura militar del Medioevo, en especial el dotado de murallas y torres para su defensa Forma del plural de castillo.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set castillo and castillos apart are highlighted. They share 8 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

8 ch
castillo
9 ch
castillos

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. castillo ([kasˈt̪iʝo]) and castillos ([kasˈt̪iʝos]) 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) - “castillo” sits inside “castillos”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 16099, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

castillo is recorded at frequency rank #2,237, classified as anoun, pronounced [kasˈt̪iʝo]. castillos is at rank #13,862, tagged as anoun, pronounced [kasˈt̪iʝos].

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 16099, this pair ranks #277,503 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of castillo vs castillos

Shared letters: acilost. Private to "castillo": -. Private to "castillos": -.

"castillo" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCCV  ·  "castillos" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • castilloacstillo · casitllo · casstillo · castilo · castilol · castlilo · casttillo · catsillo
  • castillosacstillos · casitllos · casstillos · castilloss · castillso · castilols · castilos · castlilos

Frequency comparison

castillo#2,237
castillos#13,862

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "castillo" and "castillos" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([kasˈt̪iʝo] versus [kasˈt̪iʝos]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "castillo" or "castillos"?
"castillo" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,237 in our Spanish list, against #13,862 for "castillos". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering castillo vs castillos

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “castillo” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list