Which to use
“ellos” is a pronoun and “estos” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #121
- “ellos” frequency rank
- #137
- “estos” frequency rank
- 258
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | ellos | estos |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Nominativo y dativo del pronombre personal de la tercera persona del plural. Con preposición, se emplea también en los casos oblicuos. | Forma del plural de este₂. |
Where the eye mixes ellos and estos
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses ellos with estos
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: ellos is [ˈeʝos] while estos is [ˈest̪os]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (pronoun vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 258, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
ellos is recorded at frequency rank #121, classified as apron, pronounced [ˈeʝos]. estos is at rank #137, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈest̪os].
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 258, this pair ranks #323,609 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of ellos vs estos
Shared letters: eos. Private to "ellos": l. Private to "estos": t.
"ellos" · 5 letters · shape VCCVC · "estos" · 5 letters · shape VCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "ellos" and "estos" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "ellos" or "estos"?
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 "ellos" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "estos" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #323,609 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "ellos" and "estos" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "esteros vs estos". 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 #323,609 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.