focosvsfonoWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#13,914
“focos” frequency rank
#40,847
“fono” frequency rank
54761
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature focos fono
Definition Forma del plural de foco. Dispositivo de telecomunicación que recibe y transmite sonido, codificado como impulsos eléctricos, mediante un cable o una señal de radio, permitiendo así la comunicación entre ubicaciones distantes

Where the spellings diverge

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

5 ch
focos
4 ch
fono

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. focos ([ˈfokos]) and fono ([ˈfono]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 54761, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

focos is recorded at frequency rank #13,914, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈfokos]. fono is at rank #40,847, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈfono].

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 54761, this pair ranks #81,899 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of focos vs fono

Shared letters: fo. Private to "focos": cs. Private to "fono": n.

"focos" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC  ·  "fono" · 4 letters · shape CVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • focosfcoos · ffocos · foccos · focoss · focso · foocs · ofcos
  • fonoffono · fnoo · fonno · foon · ofno

Frequency comparison

focos#13,914
fono#40,847

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "focos" and "fono" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈfokos] versus [ˈfono]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "focos" or "fono"?
"focos" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #13,914 in our Spanish list, against #40,847 for "fono". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering focos vs fono

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “focos” 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