Which to use
“pillan” is a verb and “pillo” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #31,492
- “pillan” frequency rank
- #18,643
- “pillo” frequency rank
- 50135
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | pillan | pillo |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de pillar. | Se dice del pícaro que no tiene crianza ni buenos modales. |
Where the eye mixes pillan and pillo
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. pillan runs 6 letters (CVCCVC) against pillo's 5 (CVCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses pillan with pillo
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: pillan is [ˈpiʝãn] while pillo is [ˈpiʝo]. 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 (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 50135, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
pillan is recorded at frequency rank #31,492, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈpiʝãn]. pillo is at rank #18,643, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈpiʝo].
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 50135, this pair ranks #104,892 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of pillan vs pillo
Shared letters: ilp. Private to "pillan": an. Private to "pillo": o.
"pillan" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "pillo" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "pillan" for "pillo" ever safe?
Frequency check: "pillan" vs "pillo" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "pillan" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "pillo" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #104,892 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "pillan" and "pillo" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "pillan vs pillen". 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 #104,892 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.