pelosvspollosWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#6,443
“pelos” frequency rank
#12,446
“pollos” frequency rank
18889
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature pelos pollos
Definition Forma del plural de pelo. Forma del plural de pollo.

Where the eye mixes pelos and pollos

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.

5 ch
pelos
6 ch
pollos

Visual trap between pelos and pollos

A purely visual mix-up. pelos ([ˈpelos]) and pollos ([ˈpoʝos]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 18889, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

pelos is recorded at frequency rank #6,443, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈpelos]. pollos is at rank #12,446, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈpoʝos].

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 18889, this pair ranks #266,059 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of pelos vs pollos

Shared letters: lops. Private to "pelos": e. Private to "pollos": -.

"pelos" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC  ·  "pollos" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • peloseplos · pellos · peloss · pelso · peols · pleos · ppelos
  • pollosopllos · plolos · polloss · pollso · polols · ppollos

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "pelos" and "pollos" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈpelos] versus [ˈpoʝos]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "pelos" or "pollos"?
"pelos" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #6,443 in our Spanish list, against #12,446 for "pollos". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "pelos" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "pollos" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #266,059 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "pelos" and "pollos" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "pollos vs pómulos". 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 #266,059 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list