fajovsfocoConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#43,590
“fajo” frequency rank
#6,680
“foco” frequency rank
50270
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

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

Where the eye mixes fajo and foco

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence. fajo and foco follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCV). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.

4 ch
fajo
4 ch
foco

Look-alike desk: fajo vs foco

A purely visual mix-up. fajo ([ˈfaxo]) and foco ([ˈfoko]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 50270, 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]. 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 50270, this pair ranks #104,124 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of fajo vs foco

Shared letters: fo. Private to "fajo": aj. Private to "foco": c.

"fajo" · 4 letters · shape CVCV  ·  "foco" · 4 letters · shape CVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • fajo ← afjo · fajjo · faoj · ffajo · fjao
  • foco ← fcoo · ffoco · focco · fooc · ofco

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "fajo" and "foco" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈfaxo] versus [ˈfoko]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "fajo" or "foco"?
"foco" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #6,680 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.

What to do next

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "fajo" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "foco" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #104,124 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "fajo" and "foco" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "facho vs fajo". 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 #104,124 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