Which to use
“hueco” is an adjective and “hurto” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #6,910
- “hueco” frequency rank
- #22,047
- “hurto” frequency rank
- 28957
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | hueco | hurto |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Que tiene una cavidad, vacío, espacio no lleno en su interior. | Acción o efecto de hurtar. |
Where the eye mixes hueco and hurto
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. hueco (CVVCV) and hurto (CVCCV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Look-alike desk: hueco vs hurto
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: hueco is [ˈ(ɣ̞)w̝eko] while hurto is [ˈuɾt̪o]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 28957, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
hueco is recorded at frequency rank #6,910, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈ(ɣ̞)w̝eko]. hurto is at rank #22,047, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈuɾt̪o].
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 28957, this pair ranks #219,401 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of hueco vs hurto
Shared letters: hou. Private to "hueco": ce. Private to "hurto": rt.
"hueco" · 5 letters · shape CVVCV · "hurto" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "hueco" and "hurto" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary Spanish text, does "hueco" or "hurto" show up more?
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 "hueco" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "hurto" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #219,401 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "hueco" and "hurto" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "hurto vs hurtos". 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 #219,401 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.