Which to use
“pato” is a noun and “poco” is an adverb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #7,894
- “pato” frequency rank
- #115
- “poco” frequency rank
- 8009
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | pato | poco |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Ave palmípeda del orden de las anseriformes, que se encuentra en estado silvestre y es domesticada para aprovechar sus huevos, plumas y carne. | En menor cantidad de lo que se hubiera esperado, en intensidad baja, o en menor grado. |
Where the eye mixes pato and poco
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses pato with poco
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: pato is [ˈpat̪o] while poco is [ˈpoko]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs adverb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 8009, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
pato is recorded at frequency rank #7,894, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈpat̪o]. poco is at rank #115, tagged as anadv, pronounced [ˈpoko].
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 8009, this pair ranks #306,264 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of pato vs poco
Shared letters: op. Private to "pato": at. Private to "poco": c.
"pato" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "poco" · 4 letters · shape CVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "pato" for "poco" ever safe?
In ordinary Spanish text, does "pato" or "poco" show up more?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "pato" and "poco" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "pato" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "poco" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #306,264 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "pato" and "poco" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "pa'l vs pato". 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 #306,264 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.