exactovsexistoWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: exacto is a adjective, existo is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“exacto” is an adjective and “existo” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#2,713
“exacto” frequency rank
#26,441
“existo” frequency rank
29154
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature exacto existo
Definition Puntual, fiel y cabal. Primera persona del singular (yo) del presente de indicativo de existir.

Where the eye mixes exacto and existo

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.

6 ch
exacto
6 ch
existo

Why the eye confuses exacto with existo

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: exacto is [ekˈsakt̪o] while existo is [ekˈsist̪o]. 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 (adjective vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 29154, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

exacto is recorded at frequency rank #2,713, classified as anadj, pronounced [ekˈsakt̪o]. existo is at rank #26,441, tagged as averb, pronounced [ekˈsist̪o].

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 29154, this pair ranks #218,428 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of exacto vs existo

Shared letters: eotx. Private to "exacto": ac. Private to "existo": is.

"exacto" · 6 letters · shape VCVCCV  ·  "existo" · 6 letters · shape VCVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • exactoeaxcto · exaccto · exacot · exactto · exatco · excato · exxacto · xeacto
  • existoeixsto · exisot · exissto · existto · exitso · exsito · exxisto · xeisto

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "exacto" and "existo" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "exacto" is an adjective and "existo" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "exacto" or "existo"?
"exacto" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,713 in our Spanish list, against #26,441 for "existo". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "exacto" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "existo" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #218,428 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "exacto" and "existo" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "existo vs exit". 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 #218,428 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