Which to use
“nostalgia” is a noun and “nostálgico” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #7,889
- “nostalgia” frequency rank
- #32,772
- “nostálgico” frequency rank
- 40661
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | nostalgia | nostálgico |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Sentimiento que se produce al echar de menos los buenos momentos del pasado. Se puede estar nostálgico o tener nostalgia de algo o de alguien. | Que pertenece o concierne a la nostalgia. |
Where the eye mixes nostalgia and nostálgico
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. nostalgia runs 9 letters (CVCCVCCVV) against nostálgico's 10 (CVCCVCCVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses nostalgia with nostálgico
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: nostalgia is [nosˈt̪alxja] while nostálgico is [nosˈt̪alxiko]. 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 (noun vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 40661, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
nostalgia is recorded at frequency rank #7,889, classified as anoun, pronounced [nosˈt̪alxja]. nostálgico is at rank #32,772, tagged as anadj, pronounced [nosˈt̪alxiko].
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 40661, this pair ranks #157,889 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of nostalgia vs nostálgico
Shared letters: gilnost. Private to "nostalgia": a. Private to "nostálgico": cá.
"nostalgia" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCCVV · "nostálgico" · 10 letters · shape CVCCVCCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- nostalgia ← nnostalgia · nosatlgia · nosstalgia · nostaglia · nostalgai · nostalggia · nostaliga · nostallgia
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "nostalgia" for "nostálgico" ever safe?
Which is more common, "nostalgia" or "nostálgico"?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "nostalgia" and "nostálgico" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "nostalgia" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "nostálgico" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #157,889 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "nostalgia" and "nostálgico" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "nostálgica vs nostálgico". 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 #157,889 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.