magosvsmalosWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: magos is a noun, malos is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

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

#12,001
“magos” frequency rank
#2,121
“malos” frequency rank
14122
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature magos malos
Definition Forma del plural de mago. Forma del masculino plural de malo o mal.

Where the spellings diverge

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

5 ch
magos
5 ch
malos

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

magos and malos form a confusable pair in the Spanish index, two distinct headwords that are easily confused because they look alike, sound alike, or both. They differ by a single letter - g in “magos” becomes l in “malos” - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 14122, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

magos is recorded at frequency rank #12,001, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈmaɣ̞os]. malos is at rank #2,121, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈmalos].

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 14122, this pair ranks #285,316 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Frequency comparison

magos#12,001
malos#2,121

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "magos" and "malos" be used interchangeably?
No, "magos" and "malos" have distinct meanings and cannot be swapped without changing the meaning of a sentence. Understanding the specific definition and context for each word is essential for correct usage.

Remembering magos vs malos

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

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