fajovsflacoWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: fajo is a noun, flaco is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

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

#43,590
“fajo” frequency rank
#6,679
“flaco” frequency rank
50269
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature fajo flaco
Definition Haz o atado. Escaso de carnes y grasa.

Where the spellings diverge

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

4 ch
fajo
5 ch
flaco

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: fajo is [ˈfaxo] while flaco is [ˈflako]. 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 (noun vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 50269, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

fajo is recorded at frequency rank #43,590, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈfaxo]. flaco is at rank #6,679, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈflako].

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 50269, this pair ranks #104,134 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of fajo vs flaco

Shared letters: afo. Private to "fajo": j. Private to "flaco": cl.

"fajo" · 4 letters · shape CVCV  ·  "flaco" · 5 letters · shape CCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • fajoafjo · fajjo · faoj · ffajo · fjao
  • flacofalco · fflaco · flacco · flaoc · flcao · fllaco · lfaco

Frequency comparison

fajo#43,590
flaco#6,679

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "fajo" and "flaco" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "fajo" is a noun and "flaco" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "fajo" or "flaco"?
"flaco" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #6,679 in our Spanish list, against #43,590 for "fajo". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering fajo vs flaco

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “fajo”; for an adjective, it's “flaco”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “fajo” 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