forasterovsforasterosWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#30,086
“forastero” frequency rank
#29,219
“forasteros” frequency rank
59305
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature forastero forasteros
Definition Que viene de otro lugar y no es del sitio donde llega. Forma del plural de forastero.

Where the eye mixes forastero and forasteros

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 9 letters in sequence. forastero runs 9 letters (CVCVCCVCV) against forasteros's 10 (CVCVCCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

9 ch
forastero
10 ch
forasteros

Visual trap between forastero and forasteros

A purely visual mix-up. forastero ([foɾasˈt̪eɾo]) and forasteros ([foɾasˈt̪eɾos]) 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 extra letter(s) - “forastero” sits inside “forasteros”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 59305, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

forastero is recorded at frequency rank #30,086, classified as anadj, pronounced [foɾasˈt̪eɾo]. forasteros is at rank #29,219, tagged as anadj, pronounced [foɾasˈt̪eɾos].

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 59305, this pair ranks #63,123 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of forastero vs forasteros

Shared letters: aeforst. Private to "forastero": -. Private to "forasteros": -.

"forastero" · 9 letters · shape CVCVCCVCV  ·  "forasteros" · 10 letters · shape CVCVCCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • forastero ← fforastero · foarstero · forasetro · forasstero · forasteor · forasterro · forastreo · forasttero
  • forasteros ← fforasteros · foarsteros · forasetros · forassteros · forasteors · forasteross · forasterros · forasterso

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "forastero" and "forasteros" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([foɾasˈt̪eɾo] versus [foɾasˈt̪eɾos]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary Spanish text, does "forastero" or "forasteros" show up more?
"forasteros" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #29,219 in our Spanish list, against #30,086 for "forastero". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "forastero" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "forasteros" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #63,123 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • 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 #63,123 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