mamónvsmanoWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

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

#27,677
“mamón” frequency rank
#342
“mano” frequency rank
28019
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature mamón mano
Definition Dicho de un mamífero, que aún se alimenta de leche materna. Extremidad prensil y articulada en el extremo distal del brazo de los antropoides.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set mamón and mano apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
mamón
4 ch
mano

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: mamón is [maˈmõn] while mano is [ˈmano]. 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 28019, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

mamón is recorded at frequency rank #27,677, classified as anadj, pronounced [maˈmõn]. mano is at rank #342, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈmano].

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 28019, this pair ranks #224,038 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of mamón vs mano

Shared letters: amn. Private to "mamón": ó. Private to "mano": o.

"mamón" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC  ·  "mano" · 4 letters · shape CVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • manoamno · manno · maon · mmano · mnao

Frequency comparison

mamón#27,677
mano#342

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "mamón" and "mano" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "mamón" is an adjective and "mano" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "mamón" or "mano"?
"mano" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #342 in our Spanish list, against #27,677 for "mamón". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering mamón vs mano

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

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