Which to use
“fobia” and “fósil” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #23,066
- “fobia” frequency rank
- #26,862
- “fósil” frequency rank
- 49928
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | fobia | fósil |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Profunda aversión hacia alguna cosa. | Restos de seres vivos o rastros de su actividad, conservados en los estratos de las rocas. |
Where the eye mixes fobia and fósil
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence. fobia (CVCVV) and fósil (CVCVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Look-alike desk: fobia vs fósil
A purely visual mix-up. fobia ([ˈfoβ̞ja]) and fósil ([ˈfosil]) 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 3 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 49928, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
fobia is recorded at frequency rank #23,066, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈfoβ̞ja]. fósil is at rank #26,862, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈfosil].
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 49928, this pair ranks #106,079 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of fobia vs fósil
Shared letters: fi. Private to "fobia": abo. Private to "fósil": lsó.
"fobia" · 5 letters · shape CVCVV · "fósil" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- fobia ← fboia · ffobia · fobai · fobbia · foiba · fovia · ofbia
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "fobia" for "fósil" ever safe?
In ordinary Spanish text, does "fobia" or "fósil" show up more?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "fobia" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "fósil" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #106,079 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "fobia" and "fósil" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "fobia vs fora". 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 #106,079 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.