Which to use
“fallar” is a verb and “fallo” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #10,135
- “fallar” frequency rank
- #3,410
- “fallo” frequency rank
- 13545
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | fallar | fallo |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Variante obsoleta de hallar. | En algunos juegos de naipes, falto de algún palo. |
Where the eye mixes fallar and fallo
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between fallar and fallo
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: fallar is [faˈʝaɾ] while fallo is [ˈfaʝo]. 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 (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 13545, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
fallar is recorded at frequency rank #10,135, classified as averb, pronounced [faˈʝaɾ]. fallo is at rank #3,410, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈfaʝo].
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 13545, this pair ranks #287,461 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of fallar vs fallo
Shared letters: afl. Private to "fallar": r. Private to "fallo": o.
"fallar" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "fallo" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "fallar" for "fallo" ever safe?
Frequency check: "fallar" vs "fallo" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "fallar" and "fallo" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "fallar" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "fallo" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #287,461 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "fallar" and "fallo" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "fallar vs falsear". 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 #287,461 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.