ochovsocupóWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: ocho is a num, ocupó is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“ocho” is a num and “ocupó” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#1,040
“ocho” frequency rank
#8,685
“ocupó” frequency rank
9725
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature ocho ocupó
Definition Siete y uno. Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del pretérito perfecto simple de indicativo de ocupar.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set ocho and ocupó apart are highlighted. They share 2 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

4 ch
ocho
5 ch
ocupó

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: ocho is [ˈot͡ʃo] while ocupó is [okuˈpo]. 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 (num vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 9725, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

ocho is recorded at frequency rank #1,040, classified as anum, pronounced [ˈot͡ʃo]. ocupó is at rank #8,685, tagged as averb, pronounced [okuˈpo].

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 9725, this pair ranks #301,011 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of ocho vs ocupó

Shared letters: co. Private to "ocho": h. Private to "ocupó": puó.

"ocho" · 4 letters · shape VCCV  ·  "ocupó" · 5 letters · shape VCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • ochocoho · occho · ochho · ocoh · ohco

Frequency comparison

ocho#1,040
ocupó#8,685

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "ocho" and "ocupó" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "ocho" is a num and "ocupó" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "ocho" or "ocupó"?
"ocho" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,040 in our Spanish list, against #8,685 for "ocupó". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering ocho vs ocupó

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a num, it's “ocho”; for a verb, it's “ocupó”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “ocho” 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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list