Which to use
“pavo” is a noun and “poco” is an adverb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #12,892
- “pavo” frequency rank
- #115
- “poco” frequency rank
- 13007
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | pavo | poco |
|---|---|---|
| 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. | En menor cantidad de lo que se hubiera esperado, en intensidad baja, o en menor grado. |
Where the eye mixes pavo and poco
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses pavo with poco
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: pavo is [ˈpaβ̞o] 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 13007, 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]. 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 13007, this pair ranks #289,478 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of pavo vs poco
Shared letters: op. Private to "pavo": av. Private to "poco": c.
"pavo" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "poco" · 4 letters · shape CVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "pavo" for "poco" ever safe?
In ordinary Spanish text, does "pavo" or "poco" show up more?
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 "pavo" 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 #289,478 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "pavo" and "poco" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "pa'l vs pavo". 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 #289,478 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.