chiclevschocloWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#14,788
“chicle” frequency rank
#42,881
“choclo” frequency rank
57669
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature chicle choclo
Definition Tipo de goma o pastilla con sabores que se emplea para masticar o mascar y no se traga. Mazorca de maíz tierno, en particular la que se consume hervida en agua o asada.

Where the eye mixes chicle and choclo

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. chicle and choclo follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CCVCCV). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.

6 ch
chicle
6 ch
choclo

Why the eye confuses chicle with choclo

A purely visual mix-up. chicle ([ˈt͡ʃikle]) and choclo ([ˈt͡ʃoklo]) 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 57669, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

chicle is recorded at frequency rank #14,788, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈt͡ʃikle]. choclo is at rank #42,881, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈt͡ʃoklo].

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 57669, this pair ranks #69,568 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of chicle vs choclo

Shared letters: chl. Private to "chicle": ei. Private to "choclo": o.

"chicle" · 6 letters · shape CCVCCV  ·  "choclo" · 6 letters · shape CCVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • chicle ← cchicle · chcile · chhicle · chiccle · chicel · chiclle · chilce · cihcle
  • choclo ← cchoclo · chcolo · chhoclo · chocclo · chocllo · chocol · cholco · cohclo

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "chicle" and "choclo" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ˈt͡ʃikle] versus [ˈt͡ʃoklo]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary Spanish text, does "chicle" or "choclo" show up more?
"chicle" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #14,788 in our Spanish list, against #42,881 for "choclo". 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 "chicle" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "choclo" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #69,568 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "chicle" and "choclo" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "choclo vs cholos". 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 #69,568 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