neónvsnexoConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#31,461
“neón” frequency rank
#21,084
“nexo” frequency rank
52545
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature neón nexo
Definition El neón es un elemento químico de número atómico 10 y símbolo Ne. Es un gas noble, incoloro, prácticamente inerte, presente en trazas en el aire, pero muy abundante en el universo, que proporciona un tono azulado característico a la luz de las llamas de los fogones en las que se emplea. Vínculo y unión entre una cosa y otra.

Where the eye mixes neón and nexo

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence. neón (CVVC) and nexo (CVCV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.

4 ch
neón
4 ch
nexo

Visual trap between neón and nexo

A purely visual mix-up. neón ([neˈõn]) and nexo ([ˈnekso]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 52545, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

neón is recorded at frequency rank #31,461, classified as anoun, pronounced [neˈõn]. nexo is at rank #21,084, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈnekso].

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 52545, this pair ranks #92,174 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of neón vs nexo

Shared letters: en. Private to "neón": ó. Private to "nexo": ox.

"neón" · 4 letters · shape CVVC  ·  "nexo" · 4 letters · shape CVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • nexo ← enxo · neox · nexxo · nnexo · nxeo

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "neón" and "nexo" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([neˈõn] versus [ˈnekso]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "neón" or "nexo"?
"nexo" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #21,084 in our Spanish list, against #31,461 for "neón". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "neón" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "nexo" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #92,174 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "neón" and "nexo" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "neón vs nox". 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 #92,174 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