espantosovsespantososWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#16,092
“espantoso” frequency rank
#47,118
“espantosos” frequency rank
63210
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature espantoso espantosos
Definition Que causa espanto. Forma del plural de espantoso.

Where the eye mixes espantoso and espantosos

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 9 letters in sequence. espantoso runs 9 letters (VCCVCCVCV) against espantosos's 10 (VCCVCCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

9 ch
espantoso
10 ch
espantosos

Visual trap between espantoso and espantosos

A purely visual mix-up. espantoso ([espãn̪ˈt̪oso]) and espantosos ([espãn̪ˈt̪osos]) 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) - “espantoso” sits inside “espantosos”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 63210, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

espantoso is recorded at frequency rank #16,092, classified as anadj, pronounced [espãn̪ˈt̪oso]. espantosos is at rank #47,118, tagged as anadj, pronounced [espãn̪ˈt̪osos].

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 63210, this pair ranks #49,459 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of espantoso vs espantosos

Shared letters: aenopst. Private to "espantoso": -. Private to "espantosos": -.

"espantoso" · 9 letters · shape VCCVCCVCV  ·  "espantosos" · 10 letters · shape VCCVCCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • espantoso ← epsantoso · esapntoso · espanntoso · espanotso · espantoos · espantosso · espantsoo · espanttoso
  • espantosos ← epsantosos · esapntosos · espanntosos · espanotsos · espantooss · espantososs · espantossos · espantsoos

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "espantoso" and "espantosos" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([espãn̪ˈt̪oso] versus [espãn̪ˈt̪osos]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary Spanish text, does "espantoso" or "espantosos" show up more?
"espantoso" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #16,092 in our Spanish list, against #47,118 for "espantosos". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "espantoso" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "espantosos" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #49,459 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "espantoso" and "espantosos" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "espantosas vs espantosos". 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 #49,459 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