pavovspijoWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

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

#12,892
“pavo” frequency rank
#47,323
“pijo” frequency rank
60215
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature pavo pijo
Definition (Meleagris gallopavo) Ave gallinácea de hasta un metro de altura, plumaje café verdoso, cabeza y cuello desnudos cubiertos de carúnculas rojas, que en estado silvestre vive desde Canadá hasta el norte de México. Domesticada por los amerindios, hoy es un ave de corral que se consume en todo el mundo. Dicho de una persona, que ostentosamente pertenece o simula pertenecer a una clase social pudiente

Where the spellings diverge

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

4 ch
pavo
4 ch
pijo

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: pavo is [ˈpaβ̞o] while pijo is [ˈpixo]. 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 adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 60215, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

pavo is recorded at frequency rank #12,892, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈpaβ̞o]. pijo is at rank #47,323, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈpixo].

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 60215, this pair ranks #59,739 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of pavo vs pijo

Shared letters: op. Private to "pavo": av. Private to "pijo": ij.

"pavo" · 4 letters · shape CVCV  ·  "pijo" · 4 letters · shape CVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • pavoapvo · pabo · paov · pavvo · ppavo · pvao
  • pijoipjo · pijjo · pioj · pjio · ppijo

Frequency comparison

pavo#12,892
pijo#47,323

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "pavo" and "pijo" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "pavo" is a noun and "pijo" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "pavo" or "pijo"?
"pavo" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #12,892 in our Spanish list, against #47,323 for "pijo". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering pavo vs pijo

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “pavo”; for an adjective, it's “pijo”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “pavo” 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