hollínvshollowWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#44,237
“hollín” frequency rank
#34,611
“hollow” frequency rank
78848
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature hollín hollow
Definition Partículas sólidas de tamaño muy pequeño en su mayoría compuestas de carbono impuro, pulverizado, y generalmente de colores oscuros más bien negruzcos resultantes de la combustión incompleta de un material (madera, carbón, etc). Su aspecto es similar a la ceniza pero con un tono más negro. Valle pequeño.

Where the eye mixes hollín and hollow

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. hollín and hollow follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.

6 ch
hollín
6 ch
hollow

Why the eye confuses hollín with hollow

A purely visual mix-up. hollín ([oˈʝĩn]) and hollow (/ˈhɒl.əʊ/) 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 78848, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

hollín is recorded at frequency rank #44,237, classified as anoun, pronounced [oˈʝĩn]. hollow is at rank #34,611, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈhɒl.əʊ/.

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 78848, this pair ranks #13,851 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of hollín vs hollow

Shared letters: hlo. Private to "hollín": ní. Private to "hollow": w.

"hollín" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC  ·  "hollow" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • hollow ← hhollow · hlolow · holloww · hollwo · hololw · holow · ohllow

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "hollín" and "hollow" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([oˈʝĩn] versus /ˈhɒl.əʊ/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "hollín" or "hollow"?
"hollow" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #34,611 in our Spanish list, against #44,237 for "hollín". 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 "hollín" and "hollow" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "hollín" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "hollow" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #13,851 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "hollín" and "hollow" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Holguín vs hollín". 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 #13,851 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