metrovsmutuoTell them apart

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

Which to use

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

#1,905
“metro” frequency rank
#9,158
“mutuo” frequency rank
11063
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature metro mutuo
Definition Unidad de longitud del Sistema Internacional de Unidades equivalente a la distancia recorrida por la luz en un tiempo de 1/299.792.458 de segundo. Que se hace o posee de modo recíproco entre dos o más, en una relación de correspondencia de uno al otro.

Where the eye mixes metro and mutuo

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

5 ch
metro
5 ch
mutuo

Look-alike desk: metro vs mutuo

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: metro is [ˈmet̪ɾo] while mutuo is [ˈmut̪wo]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 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 11063, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

metro is recorded at frequency rank #1,905, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈmet̪ɾo]. mutuo is at rank #9,158, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈmut̪wo].

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 11063, this pair ranks #296,395 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of metro vs mutuo

Shared letters: mot. Private to "metro": er. Private to "mutuo": u.

"metro" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV  ·  "mutuo" · 5 letters · shape CVCVV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • metroemtro · merto · metor · metrro · mettro · mmetro · mtero
  • mutuommutuo · mtuuo · mutou · muttuo · muuto · umtuo

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "metro" and "mutuo" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "metro" is a noun and "mutuo" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Frequency check: "metro" vs "mutuo" - which ranks higher?
"metro" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,905 in our Spanish list, against #9,158 for "mutuo". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "metro" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "mutuo" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #296,395 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "metro" and "mutuo" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "mute vs mutuo". 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 #296,395 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