élitevséxitoConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#7,247
“élite” frequency rank
#731
“éxito” frequency rank
7978
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature élite éxito
Definition Minoría selecta y rectora. Logro o compensación satisfactoria de una tarea o actividad.

Where the eye mixes élite and éxito

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.

5 ch
élite
5 ch
éxito

Visual trap between élite and éxito

A purely visual mix-up. élite ([ˈelit̪e]) and éxito ([ˈeksit̪o]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 7978, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

élite is recorded at frequency rank #7,247, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈelit̪e]. éxito is at rank #731, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈeksit̪o].

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 7978, this pair ranks #306,346 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of élite vs éxito

Shared letters: ité. Private to "élite": el. Private to "éxito": ox.

"élite" · 5 letters · shape VCVCV  ·  "éxito" · 5 letters · shape VCVCV

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "élite" for "éxito" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈelit̪e] versus [ˈeksit̪o]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "élite" vs "éxito" - which ranks higher?
"éxito" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #731 in our Spanish list, against #7,247 for "élite". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "élite" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "éxito" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #306,346 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "élite" and "éxito" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "élite vs exit". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #306,346 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