magovsmodoWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#8,140
“mago” frequency rank
#554
“modo” frequency rank
8694
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature mago modo
Definition Persona que practica la magia. Forma de hacerse, ocurrir o ser algo.

Where the eye mixes mago and modo

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.

4 ch
mago
4 ch
modo

Look-alike desk: mago vs modo

A purely visual mix-up. mago ([ˈmaɣ̞o]) and modo ([ˈmoð̞o]) 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 8694, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

mago is recorded at frequency rank #8,140, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈmaɣ̞o]. modo is at rank #554, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈmoð̞o].

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 8694, this pair ranks #304,253 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of mago vs modo

Shared letters: mo. Private to "mago": ag. Private to "modo": d.

"mago" · 4 letters · shape CVCV  ·  "modo" · 4 letters · shape CVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • magoamgo · maggo · maog · mgao · mmago
  • modomdoo · mmodo · moddo · omdo

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "mago" and "modo" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈmaɣ̞o] versus [ˈmoð̞o]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "mago" or "modo"?
"modo" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #554 in our Spanish list, against #8,140 for "mago". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

What to do next

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "mago" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "modo" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #304,253 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "mago" and "modo" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "mago vs math". 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 #304,253 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