mostrar vs mostro, What's the Difference?

Which to use

“mostrar” is a verb and “mostro” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#2,124
“mostrar” frequency rank: #36,172
“mostro” frequency rank: 38296
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	mostrar	mostro
Definition	Hacer ver algo.	Variante arcaica de monstruo.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set mostrar and mostro apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

7 ch

mostrar

6 ch

mostro

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: mostrar is [mosˈt̪ɾaɾ] while mostro is [ˈmost̪ɾo]. 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 (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 38296, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

mostrar is recorded at frequency rank #2,124, classified as averb, pronounced [mosˈt̪ɾaɾ]. mostro is at rank #36,172, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈmost̪ɾo].

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 38296, this pair ranks #170,775 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of mostrar vs mostro

Shared letters: morst. Private to "mostrar": a. Private to "mostro": -.

"mostrar" · 7 letters · shape CVCCCVC · "mostro" · 6 letters · shape CVCCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

mostrar ← mmostrar · mosrtar · mosstrar · mostarr · mostrarr · mostrra · mostrrar · mosttrar
mostro ← mmostro · mosrto · mosstro · mostor · mostrro · mosttro · motsro · msotro

Frequency comparison

mostrar#2,124

mostro#36,172

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "mostrar" and "mostro" be used interchangeably?

No - they are not even the same part of speech. "mostrar" is a verb and "mostro" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.

Which is more common, "mostrar" or "mostro"?

"mostrar" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,124 in our Spanish list, against #36,172 for "mostro". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering mostrar vs mostro

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “mostrar”; for a noun, it's “mostro”.
See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “mostrar” entry
Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable