Which to use
“poco” is an adverb and “poso” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #115
- “poco” frequency rank
- #46,740
- “poso” frequency rank
- 46855
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | poco | poso |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | En menor cantidad de lo que se hubiera esperado, en intensidad baja, o en menor grado. | Sólidos que estaban diluidos en un líquido y por la acción de la gravedad se depositan en el fondo del recipiente que lo contiene al líquido. |
Where the eye mixes poco and poso
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses poco with poso
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: poco is [ˈpoko] while poso is [ˈposo]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - c in “poco” becomes s in “poso”, and the parts of speech differ too (adverb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 46855, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
poco is recorded at frequency rank #115, classified as anadv, pronounced [ˈpoko]. poso is at rank #46,740, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈposo].
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 46855, this pair ranks #123,362 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of poco vs poso
Shared letters: op. Private to "poco": c. Private to "poso": s.
"poco" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "poso" · 4 letters · shape CVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "poco" for "poso" ever safe?
Frequency check: "poco" vs "poso" - which ranks higher?
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 "poco" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "poso" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #123,362 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "poco" and "poso" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "poso vs probo". 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 #123,362 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.