fachovsfocoWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: facho is a adjective, foco is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“facho” is an adjective and “foco” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#46,554
“facho” frequency rank
#6,680
“foco” frequency rank
53234
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature facho foco
Definition Fascista. Punto físico en el que convergen los rayos de luz reflejados o refractados por una lente o espejo.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set facho and foco apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
facho
4 ch
foco

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: facho is [ˈfat͡ʃo] while foco is [ˈfoko]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 53234, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

facho is recorded at frequency rank #46,554, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈfat͡ʃo]. foco is at rank #6,680, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈfoko].

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 53234, this pair ranks #88,870 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of facho vs foco

Shared letters: cfo. Private to "facho": ah. Private to "foco": -.

"facho" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV  ·  "foco" · 4 letters · shape CVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • fachoafcho · faccho · fachho · facoh · fahco · fcaho · ffacho
  • focofcoo · ffoco · focco · fooc · ofco

Frequency comparison

facho#46,554
foco#6,680

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "facho" and "foco" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "facho" is an adjective and "foco" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "facho" or "foco"?
"foco" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #6,680 in our Spanish list, against #46,554 for "facho". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering facho vs foco

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need an adjective, it's “facho”; for a noun, it's “foco”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “facho” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list