Which to use
“desconocido” is an adjective and “desconocidos” is an unknown - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #3,836
- “desconocido” frequency rank
- #7,544
- “desconocidos” frequency rank
- 11380
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | desconocido | desconocidos |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Que no se conoce, que no se sabe lo que es o quién es. Se dice de aquello sobre lo que no se tiene conocimiento. | Forma del plural de desconocido. |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set desconocido and desconocidos apart are highlighted. They share 11 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
desconocido and desconocidos form a confusable pair in the Spanish index, two distinct headwords that are easily confused because they look alike, sound alike, or both. They differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “desconocido” sits inside “desconocidos” - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 11380, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
desconocido is recorded at frequency rank #3,836, classified as anadj, pronounced [d̪eskonoˈsið̞o]. desconocidos is at rank #7,544, tagged as anunknown, pronounced [d̪eskonoˈsið̞os].
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 11380, this pair ranks #295,325 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "desconocido" and "desconocidos" be used interchangeably?
Remembering desconocido vs desconocidos
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need an adjective, it's “desconocido”; for an unknown, it's “desconocidos”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “desconocido” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable