notariovsnotorioWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: notario is a noun, notorio is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“notario” is a noun and “notorio” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#15,429
“notario” frequency rank
#15,430
“notorio” frequency rank
30859
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature notario notorio
Definition Abogado autorizado para dar fe pública acerca de contratos, escrituras de bienes inmuebles, testamentos, certificación de documentos así como acontecimientos varios. Así mismo custodian documentos en los protocolos de su despacho: la notaría. Público y sabido por todos.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set notario and notorio apart are highlighted. They share 6 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

7 ch
notario
7 ch
notorio

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: notario is [noˈt̪aɾjo] while notorio is [noˈt̪oɾjo]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - a in “notario” becomes o in “notorio”, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 30859, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

notario is recorded at frequency rank #15,429, classified as anoun, pronounced [noˈt̪aɾjo]. notorio is at rank #15,430, tagged as anadj, pronounced [noˈt̪oɾjo].

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 30859, this pair ranks #209,965 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of notario vs notorio

Shared letters: inort. Private to "notario": a. Private to "notorio": -.

"notario" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVV  ·  "notorio" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • notarionnotario · noatrio · notairo · notaroi · notarrio · notraio · nottario · ntoario
  • notorionnotorio · nootrio · notoiro · notoroi · notorrio · notroio · nottorio · ntoorio

Frequency comparison

notario#15,429
notorio#15,430

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "notario" and "notorio" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "notario" is a noun and "notorio" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "notario" or "notorio"?
"notario" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #15,429 in our Spanish list, against #15,430 for "notorio". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering notario vs notorio

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “notario”; for an adjective, it's “notorio”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “notario” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list