Which to use
“hostal” is a noun and “hostil” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #30,946
- “hostal” frequency rank
- #10,350
- “hostil” frequency rank
- 41296
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | hostal | hostil |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Establecimiento que ofrece servicios de hospedaje y alimentación a viajeros o turistas. | Que es enemigo o contrario. |
Where the eye mixes hostal and hostil
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses hostal with hostil
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: hostal is [osˈt̪al] while hostil is [osˈt̪il]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - a in “hostal” becomes i in “hostil”, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 41296, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
hostal is recorded at frequency rank #30,946, classified as anoun, pronounced [osˈt̪al]. hostil is at rank #10,350, tagged as anadj, pronounced [osˈt̪il].
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 41296, this pair ranks #154,423 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of hostal vs hostil
Shared letters: hlost. Private to "hostal": a. Private to "hostil": i.
"hostal" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "hostil" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "hostal" for "hostil" ever safe?
Which is more common, "hostal" or "hostil"?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "hostal" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "hostil" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #154,423 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "hostal" and "hostil" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Horta vs hostal". 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 #154,423 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.