criollovscriollosWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: criollo is a adjective, criollos is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“criollo” is an adjective and “criollos” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#13,876
“criollo” frequency rank
#19,680
“criollos” frequency rank
33556
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature criollo criollos
Definition Dicho del hijo de europeos nacido en América. Forma del plural de criollo. (sustantivo)

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set criollo and criollos apart are highlighted. They share 7 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

7 ch
criollo
8 ch
criollos

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: criollo is [ˈkɾjoʝo] while criollos is [ˈkɾjoʝos]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “criollo” sits inside “criollos”, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 33556, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

criollo is recorded at frequency rank #13,876, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈkɾjoʝo]. criollos is at rank #19,680, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈkɾjoʝos].

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 33556, this pair ranks #196,185 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of criollo vs criollos

Shared letters: cilor. Private to "criollo": -. Private to "criollos": s.

"criollo" · 7 letters · shape CCVVCCV  ·  "criollos" · 8 letters · shape CCVVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • criolloccriollo · cirollo · crilolo · criolo · criolol · croillo · crriollo · rciollo
  • criollosccriollos · cirollos · crilolos · criolloss · criollso · criolols · criolos · croillos

Frequency comparison

criollo#13,876
criollos#19,680

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "criollo" and "criollos" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "criollo" is an adjective and "criollos" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "criollo" or "criollos"?
"criollo" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #13,876 in our Spanish list, against #19,680 for "criollos". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering criollo vs criollos

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need an adjective, it's “criollo”; for a noun, it's “criollos”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “criollo” 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