hijovshitosWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#327
“hijo” frequency rank
#21,697
“hitos” frequency rank
22024
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature hijo hitos
Definition Individuo respecto a cualquiera de sus progenitores. Forma del plural de hito.

Where the spellings diverge

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

4 ch
hijo
5 ch
hitos

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. hijo ([ˈixo]) and hitos ([ˈit̪os]) 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 22024, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

hijo is recorded at frequency rank #327, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈixo]. hitos is at rank #21,697, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈit̪os].

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 22024, this pair ranks #252,289 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of hijo vs hitos

Shared letters: hio. Private to "hijo": j. Private to "hitos": st.

"hijo" · 4 letters · shape CVCV  ·  "hitos" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • hijohhijo · hijjo · hioj · hjio · ihjo
  • hitoshhitos · hiots · hitoss · hitso · hittos · htios · ihtos

Frequency comparison

hijo#327
hitos#21,697

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "hijo" and "hitos" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈixo] versus [ˈit̪os]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "hijo" or "hitos"?
"hijo" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #327 in our Spanish list, against #21,697 for "hitos". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering hijo vs hitos

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 “hijo” 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