oírvsoutWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#3,866
“oír” frequency rank
#6,934
“out” frequency rank
10800
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature oír out
Definition Percibir sonidos con el oído. Segunda persona del singular del presente de indicativo de bezañ.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set oír and out apart are highlighted. They share 1 letter in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

3 ch
oír
3 ch
out

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. oír ([oˈiɾ]) and out ([ˈutː]) 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 10800, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

oír is recorded at frequency rank #3,866, classified as averb, pronounced [oˈiɾ]. out is at rank #6,934, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈutː].

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 10800, this pair ranks #297,330 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of oír vs out

Shared letters: o. Private to "oír": . Private to "out": tu.

"oír" · 3 letters · shape VVC  ·  "out" · 3 letters · shape VVC

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "oír" and "out" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([oˈiɾ] versus [ˈutː]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "oír" or "out"?
"oír" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,866 in our Spanish list, against #6,934 for "out". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list