Which to use
“corto” is an adjective and “costo” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #1,567
- “corto” frequency rank
- #1,763
- “costo” frequency rank
- 3330
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | corto | costo |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Pequeño, especialmente en cuanto a la longitud, duración o extensión, pero también en cuanto a otra dimensión en comparación con otros de su clase o género. | Precio pagado por un bien o servicio, o imputado a la producción de este. |
Where the eye mixes corto and costo
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between corto and costo
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: corto is [ˈkoɾt̪o] while costo is [ˈkost̪o]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - r in “corto” becomes s 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 3330, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
corto is recorded at frequency rank #1,567, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈkoɾt̪o]. 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 3330, this pair ranks #318,540 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of corto vs costo
Shared letters: cot. Private to "corto": r. Private to "costo": s.
"corto" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV · "costo" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "corto" and "costo" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "corto" vs "costo" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "corto" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "costo" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #318,540 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "corto" and "costo" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "corto vs curt". 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 #318,540 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.