Which to use
“pato” and “poso” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #7,894
- “pato” frequency rank
- #46,740
- “poso” frequency rank
- 54634
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | pato | poso |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Ave palmípeda del orden de las anseriformes, que se encuentra en estado silvestre y es domesticada para aprovechar sus huevos, plumas y carne. | Sólidos que estaban diluidos en un líquido y por la acción de la gravedad se depositan en el fondo del recipiente que lo contiene al líquido. |
Where the eye mixes pato and poso
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence. pato and poso follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCV). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Look-alike desk: pato vs poso
A purely visual mix-up. pato ([ˈpat̪o]) and poso ([ˈposo]) 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 54634, 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]. poso is at rank #46,740, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈposo].
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 54634, this pair ranks #82,443 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of pato vs poso
Shared letters: op. Private to "pato": at. Private to "poso": s.
"pato" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "poso" · 4 letters · shape CVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "pato" for "poso" ever safe?
Frequency check: "pato" vs "poso" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "pato" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "poso" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #82,443 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "pato" and "poso" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "poso vs probo". 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 #82,443 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.