hermanovshermanosConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#671
“hermano” frequency rank
#1,246
“hermanos” frequency rank
1917
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature hermano hermanos
Definition Persona que, con respecto a otra, comparte uno o ambos padres. Forma del plural de hermano.

Where the eye mixes hermano and hermanos

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. hermano runs 7 letters (CVCCVCV) against hermanos's 8 (CVCCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

7 ch
hermano
8 ch
hermanos

Look-alike desk: hermano vs hermanos

A purely visual mix-up. hermano ([eɾˈmano]) and hermanos ([eɾˈmanos]) 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) - “hermano” sits inside “hermanos”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 1917, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

hermano is recorded at frequency rank #671, classified as anoun, pronounced [eɾˈmano]. hermanos is at rank #1,246, tagged as anoun, pronounced [eɾˈmanos].

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 1917, this pair ranks #321,281 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of hermano vs hermanos

Shared letters: aehmnor. Private to "hermano": -. Private to "hermanos": s.

"hermano" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCV  ·  "hermanos" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • hermano ← ehrmano · hemrano · heramno · hermanno · hermaon · hermmano · hermnao · herrmano
  • hermanos ← ehrmanos · hemranos · heramnos · hermannos · hermanoss · hermanso · hermaons · hermmanos

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "hermano" for "hermanos" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([eɾˈmano] versus [eɾˈmanos]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "hermano" or "hermanos"?
"hermano" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #671 in our Spanish list, against #1,246 for "hermanos". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "hermano" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "hermanos" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #321,281 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "hermano" and "hermanos" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Hermann vs hermanos". 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 #321,281 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