listovslistónWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

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

#1,514
“listo” frequency rank
#30,551
“listón” frequency rank
32065
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature listo listón
Definition Preparado, dispuesto o aparejado para ejecutar, hacer o usarse en algo. Cinta de tela de seda de anchura inferior a 35 mm.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set listo and listón apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
listo
6 ch
listón

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: listo is [ˈlist̪o] while listón is [lisˈt̪õn]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 32065, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

listo is recorded at frequency rank #1,514, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈlist̪o]. listón is at rank #30,551, tagged as anoun, pronounced [lisˈt̪õn].

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 32065, this pair ranks #203,924 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of listo vs listón

Shared letters: ilst. Private to "listo": o. Private to "listón": .

"listo" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV  ·  "listón" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • listoilsto · lisot · lissto · listto · litso · llisto · lsito

Frequency comparison

listo#1,514
listón#30,551

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "listo" and "listón" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "listo" is an adjective and "listón" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "listo" or "listón"?
"listo" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,514 in our Spanish list, against #30,551 for "listón". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering listo vs listón

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need an adjective, it's “listo”; for a noun, it's “listón”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “listo” 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