ilícitovsilícitosWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: ilícito is a adjective, ilícitos is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“ilícito” is an adjective and “ilícitos” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#14,866
“ilícito” frequency rank
#24,183
“ilícitos” frequency rank
39049
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature ilícito ilícitos
Definition Que está fuera de lo legal, de lo moral o de las reglas establecidas. Forma del plural de ilícito.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set ilícito and ilícitos apart are highlighted. They share 7 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

7 ch
ilícito
8 ch
ilícitos

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: ilícito is [iˈlisit̪o] while ilícitos is [iˈlisit̪os]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “ilícito” sits inside “ilícitos”, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 39049, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

ilícito is recorded at frequency rank #14,866, classified as anadj, pronounced [iˈlisit̪o]. ilícitos is at rank #24,183, tagged as anoun, pronounced [iˈlisit̪os].

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 39049, this pair ranks #166,671 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of ilícito vs ilícitos

Shared letters: cilotí. Private to "ilícito": -. Private to "ilícitos": s.

"ilícito" · 7 letters · shape VCVCVCV  ·  "ilícitos" · 8 letters · shape VCVCVCVC

Frequency comparison

ilícito#14,866
ilícitos#24,183

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "ilícito" and "ilícitos" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "ilícito" is an adjective and "ilícitos" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "ilícito" or "ilícitos"?
"ilícito" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #14,866 in our Spanish list, against #24,183 for "ilícitos". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering ilícito vs ilícitos

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need an adjective, it's “ilícito”; for a noun, it's “ilícitos”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “ilícito” 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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list