nefastovsnefastosWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#20,136
“nefasto” frequency rank
#36,702
“nefastos” frequency rank
56838
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature nefasto nefastos
Definition Malo, funesto, aciago. Forma del plural de nefasto.

Where the eye mixes nefasto and nefastos

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. nefasto runs 7 letters (CVCVCCV) against nefastos's 8 (CVCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

7 ch
nefasto
8 ch
nefastos

Look-alike desk: nefasto vs nefastos

A purely visual mix-up. nefasto ([neˈfast̪o]) and nefastos ([neˈfast̪os]) 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 extra letter(s) - “nefasto” sits inside “nefastos”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 56838, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

nefasto is recorded at frequency rank #20,136, classified as anadj, pronounced [neˈfast̪o]. nefastos is at rank #36,702, tagged as anadj, pronounced [neˈfast̪os].

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 56838, this pair ranks #72,910 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of nefasto vs nefastos

Shared letters: aefnost. Private to "nefasto": -. Private to "nefastos": -.

"nefasto" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCCV  ·  "nefastos" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • nefasto ← enfasto · neafsto · nefasot · nefassto · nefastto · nefatso · neffasto · nefsato
  • nefastos ← enfastos · neafstos · nefasots · nefasstos · nefastoss · nefastso · nefasttos · nefatsos

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "nefasto" and "nefastos" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([neˈfast̪o] versus [neˈfast̪os]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "nefasto" vs "nefastos" - which ranks higher?
"nefasto" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #20,136 in our Spanish list, against #36,702 for "nefastos". 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 "nefasto" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "nefastos" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #72,910 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • 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 #72,910 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