maricovsmáximoTell them apart

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

Which to use

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

#23,129
“marico” frequency rank
#1,517
“máximo” frequency rank
24646
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature marico máximo
Definition Varón que siente atracción sexual por personas de su mismo sexo biológico. Superlativo irregular de grande: sumamente grande.

Where the eye mixes marico and máximo

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.

6 ch
marico
6 ch
máximo

Look-alike desk: marico vs máximo

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: marico is [maˈɾiko] while máximo is [ˈmaksimo]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 3 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 24646, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

marico is recorded at frequency rank #23,129, classified as anoun, pronounced [maˈɾiko]. máximo is at rank #1,517, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈmaksimo].

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 24646, this pair ranks #240,180 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of marico vs máximo

Shared letters: imo. Private to "marico": acr. Private to "máximo": .

"marico" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV  ·  "máximo" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • maricoamrico · mairco · marcio · maricco · marioc · marrico · mmarico · mraico

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "marico" and "máximo" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "marico" is a noun and "máximo" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Frequency check: "marico" vs "máximo" - which ranks higher?
"máximo" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,517 in our Spanish list, against #23,129 for "marico". 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 "marico" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "máximo" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #240,180 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "marico" and "máximo" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "manito vs marico". 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 #240,180 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