defectovsdefectosWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#5,390
“defecto” frequency rank
#5,599
“defectos” frequency rank
10989
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature defecto defectos
Definition Falla en la forma, o constitución de algo. Forma del plural de defecto.

Where the eye mixes defecto and defectos

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence.

7 ch
defecto
8 ch
defectos

Visual trap between defecto and defectos

A purely visual mix-up. defecto ([d̪eˈfekt̪o]) and defectos ([d̪eˈfekt̪os]) 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 extra letter(s) - “defecto” sits inside “defectos”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 10989, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

defecto is recorded at frequency rank #5,390, classified as anoun, pronounced [d̪eˈfekt̪o]. defectos is at rank #5,599, tagged as anoun, pronounced [d̪eˈfekt̪os].

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 10989, this pair ranks #296,658 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of defecto vs defectos

Shared letters: cdefot. Private to "defecto": -. Private to "defectos": s.

"defecto" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCCV  ·  "defectos" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • defectoddefecto · deefcto · defceto · defeccto · defecot · defectto · defetco · deffecto
  • defectosddefectos · deefctos · defcetos · defecctos · defecots · defectoss · defectso · defecttos

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "defecto" and "defectos" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([d̪eˈfekt̪o] versus [d̪eˈfekt̪os]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "defecto" vs "defectos" - which ranks higher?
"defecto" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #5,390 in our Spanish list, against #5,599 for "defectos". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Eye-level mix-up between "defecto" and "defectos" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "defecto" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "defectos" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #296,658 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "defecto" and "defectos" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "defectos vs defectuosa". 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 #296,658 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