Which to use
“casto” is an adjective and “costo” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #44,616
- “casto” frequency rank
- #1,763
- “costo” frequency rank
- 46379
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | casto | costo |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Persona que se abstiene de todo goce sexual o lo vive de acuerdo a ciertas directrices dictadas por su religión o su moral. | Precio pagado por un bien o servicio, o imputado a la producción de este. |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set casto and costo apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: casto is [ˈkast̪o] while costo is [ˈkost̪o]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - a in “casto” becomes o in “costo”, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 46379, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
casto is recorded at frequency rank #44,616, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈkast̪o]. costo is at rank #1,763, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈkost̪o].
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 46379, this pair ranks #126,065 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of casto vs costo
Shared letters: cost. Private to "casto": a. Private to "costo": -.
"casto" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV · "costo" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "casto" and "costo" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "casto" or "costo"?
Remembering casto vs costo
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need an adjective, it's “casto”; for a noun, it's “costo”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “casto” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable