mochevsmodeWhich spelling fits?

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

Which to use

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

#44,319
“moche” frequency rank
#21,074
“mode” frequency rank
65393
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature moche mode
Definition Que pertenece o concierne a un pueblo amerindio originario de la costa norte del Perú. Modo, estilo.

Where the eye mixes moche and mode

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

5 ch
moche
4 ch
mode

Why the eye confuses moche with mode

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: moche is [ˈmot͡ʃe] while mode is /məʊd/. 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 65393, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

moche is recorded at frequency rank #44,319, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈmot͡ʃe]. mode is at rank #21,074, tagged as anoun, pronounced /məʊd/.

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 65393, this pair ranks #42,753 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of moche vs mode

Shared letters: emo. Private to "moche": ch. Private to "mode": d.

"moche" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV  ·  "mode" · 4 letters · shape CVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • mochemcohe · mmoche · mocche · moceh · mochhe · mohce · omche
  • modemdoe · mmode · modde · moed · omde

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "moche" and "mode" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "moche" is an adjective and "mode" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
In ordinary Spanish text, does "moche" or "mode" show up more?
"mode" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #21,074 in our Spanish list, against #44,319 for "moche". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "moche" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "mode" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #42,753 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "moche" and "mode" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "moche vs moje". 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 #42,753 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