motínvsmotivoWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#16,158
“motín” frequency rank
#1,145
“motivo” frequency rank
17303
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature motín motivo
Definition Rebelión colectiva y organizada contra la autoridad competente. Razón que mueve o motiva una consecuencia.

Where the eye mixes motín and motivo

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. motín runs 5 letters (CVCVC) against motivo's 6 (CVCVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

5 ch
motín
6 ch
motivo

Visual trap between motín and motivo

A purely visual mix-up. motín ([moˈt̪ĩn]) and motivo ([moˈt̪iβ̞o]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 17303, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

motín is recorded at frequency rank #16,158, classified as anoun, pronounced [moˈt̪ĩn]. motivo is at rank #1,145, tagged as anoun, pronounced [moˈt̪iβ̞o].

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 17303, this pair ranks #272,719 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of motín vs motivo

Shared letters: mot. Private to "motín": ní. Private to "motivo": iv.

"motín" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC  ·  "motivo" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • motivo ← mmotivo · moitvo · motibo · motiov · motivvo · mottivo · motvio · mtoivo

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "motín" and "motivo" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([moˈt̪ĩn] versus [moˈt̪iβ̞o]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "motín" or "motivo"?
"motivo" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,145 in our Spanish list, against #16,158 for "motín". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

After this comparison

Eye-level mix-up between "motín" and "motivo" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "motín" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "motivo" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #272,719 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "motín" and "motivo" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Moris vs motín". 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 #272,719 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