másvsmuyWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#24
“más” frequency rank
#46
“muy” frequency rank
70
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature más muy
Definition En comparación implícita o explícita, indica "mayor cantidad de, exceso, aumento, superioridad, preferencia". Comparativo irregular de mucho Expresa grado intenso, extenso o de abundancia de la característica del adjetivo o adverbio al que precede y es caracterizado como un adverbio de cantidad o modo..

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set más and muy apart are highlighted. They share 1 letter in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

3 ch
más
3 ch
muy

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

más and muy form a confusable pair in the Spanish index, two distinct headwords that are easily confused because they look alike, sound alike, or both. They share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 70, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

más is recorded at frequency rank #24, classified as anadv, pronounced [ˈmas]. muy is at rank #46, tagged as anadv, pronounced [ˈmuj].

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 70, this pair ranks #323,801 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Frequency comparison

más#24
muy#46

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "más" and "muy" be used interchangeably?
No, "más" and "muy" 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 más vs muy

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “más” 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