mutevsmutuoTell them apart

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

Which to use

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

#44,883
“mute” frequency rank
#9,158
“mutuo” frequency rank
54041
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature mute mutuo
Definition Primera persona del singular (yo) del presente de subjuntivo de mutar. 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 mute and mutuo

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

4 ch
mute
5 ch
mutuo

Visual trap between mute and mutuo

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: mute is [ˈmut̪e] while mutuo is [ˈmut̪wo]. 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 adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 54041, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

mute is recorded at frequency rank #44,883, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈmut̪e]. 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 54041, this pair ranks #85,055 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of mute vs mutuo

Shared letters: mtu. Private to "mute": e. Private to "mutuo": o.

"mute" · 4 letters · shape CVCV  ·  "mutuo" · 5 letters · shape CVCVV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • mutemmute · mtue · muet · mutte · umte
  • mutuommutuo · mtuuo · mutou · muttuo · muuto · umtuo

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "mute" for "mutuo" ever safe?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "mute" is a verb and "mutuo" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "mute" or "mutuo"?
"mutuo" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #9,158 in our Spanish list, against #44,883 for "mute". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "mute" 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 #85,055 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "mute" and "mutuo" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "mur vs mute". 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 #85,055 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