pijovspilónWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

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

#47,323
“pijo” frequency rank
#47,991
“pilón” frequency rank
95314
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature pijo pilón
Definition Dicho de una persona, que ostentosamente pertenece o simula pertenecer a una clase social pudiente Receptáculo de piedra, que se construye en las fuentes para que, cayendo el agua en él, sirva de abrevadero, de lavadero o para otros usos.

Where the spellings diverge

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

4 ch
pijo
5 ch
pilón

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: pijo is [ˈpixo] while pilón is [piˈlõn]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 95314, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

pijo is recorded at frequency rank #47,323, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈpixo]. pilón is at rank #47,991, tagged as anoun, pronounced [piˈlõn].

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 95314, this pair ranks #592 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of pijo vs pilón

Shared letters: ip. Private to "pijo": jo. Private to "pilón": lnó.

"pijo" · 4 letters · shape CVCV  ·  "pilón" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • pijoipjo · pijjo · pioj · pjio · ppijo

Frequency comparison

pijo#47,323
pilón#47,991

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "pijo" and "pilón" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "pijo" is an adjective and "pilón" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "pijo" or "pilón"?
"pijo" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #47,323 in our Spanish list, against #47,991 for "pilón". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering pijo vs pilón

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

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