chochovscholoWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#32,554
“chocho” frequency rank
#27,521
“cholo” frequency rank
60075
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature chocho cholo
Definition Que sufre deterioro de sus facultades, especialmente las mentales, a causa de la edad. De ascendencia amerindia o mestizo de la misma y blanco.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set chocho and cholo apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
chocho
5 ch
cholo

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. chocho ([ˈt͡ʃot͡ʃo]) and cholo ([ˈt͡ʃolo]) 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 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 60075, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

chocho is recorded at frequency rank #32,554, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈt͡ʃot͡ʃo]. cholo is at rank #27,521, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈt͡ʃolo].

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 60075, this pair ranks #60,235 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of chocho vs cholo

Shared letters: cho. Private to "chocho": -. Private to "cholo": l.

"chocho" · 6 letters · shape CCVCCV  ·  "cholo" · 5 letters · shape CCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • chochocchocho · chcoho · chhocho · choccho · chochho · chocoh · chohco · cohcho
  • choloccholo · chholo · chloo · chool · cohlo · hcolo

Frequency comparison

chocho#32,554
cholo#27,521

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "chocho" and "cholo" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈt͡ʃot͡ʃo] versus [ˈt͡ʃolo]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "chocho" or "cholo"?
"cholo" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #27,521 in our Spanish list, against #32,554 for "chocho". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering chocho vs cholo

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 “chocho” 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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list