hilovshulkWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#3,789
“hilo” frequency rank
#16,128
“hulk” frequency rank
19917
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature hilo hulk
Definition Fibra textil delgada, formada por pocas hebras, de largo variable. Esqueleto, armazón, armatoste.

Where the eye mixes hilo and hulk

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.

4 ch
hilo
4 ch
hulk

Look-alike desk: hilo vs hulk

A purely visual mix-up. hilo ([ˈilo]) and hulk (/hʌlk/) 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 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 19917, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

hilo is recorded at frequency rank #3,789, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈilo]. hulk is at rank #16,128, tagged as anoun, pronounced /hʌlk/.

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 19917, this pair ranks #261,643 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of hilo vs hulk

Shared letters: hl. Private to "hilo": io. Private to "hulk": ku.

"hilo" · 4 letters · shape CVCV  ·  "hulk" · 4 letters · shape CVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • hilohhilo · hillo · hiol · hlio · ihlo
  • hulkhhulk · hluk · hukl · hulkk · hullk · uhlk

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "hilo" and "hulk" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ˈilo] versus /hʌlk/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "hilo" vs "hulk" - which ranks higher?
"hilo" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,789 in our Spanish list, against #16,128 for "hulk". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Eye-level mix-up between "hilo" and "hulk" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "hilo" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "hulk" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #261,643 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "hilo" and "hulk" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "huey vs hulk". 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 #261,643 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