pollovspolvosConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#3,435
“pollo” frequency rank
#19,212
“polvos” frequency rank
22647
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature pollo polvos
Definition Ejemplar juvenil de un ave, en especial de la gallina. Forma del plural de polvo.

Where the eye mixes pollo and polvos

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. pollo runs 5 letters (CVCCV) against polvos's 6 (CVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

5 ch
pollo
6 ch
polvos

Visual trap between pollo and polvos

A purely visual mix-up. pollo ([ˈpoʝo]) and polvos ([ˈpolβ̞os]) 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 22647, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

pollo is recorded at frequency rank #3,435, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈpoʝo]. polvos is at rank #19,212, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈpolβ̞os].

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 22647, this pair ranks #249,379 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of pollo vs polvos

Shared letters: lop. Private to "pollo": -. Private to "polvos": sv.

"pollo" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV  ·  "polvos" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • pollo ← opllo · plolo · polol · ppollo
  • polvos ← oplvos · plovos · polbos · pollvos · polovs · polvoss · polvso · polvvos

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "pollo" and "polvos" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ˈpoʝo] versus [ˈpolβ̞os]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "pollo" vs "polvos" - which ranks higher?
"pollo" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,435 in our Spanish list, against #19,212 for "polvos". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "pollo" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "polvos" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #249,379 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "pollo" and "polvos" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "pillos vs polvos". 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 #249,379 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