Which to use
“pude” is a verb and “pus” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #1,828
- “pude” frequency rank
- #26,976
- “pus” frequency rank
- 28804
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | pude | pus |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Primera persona del singular (yo) del pretérito perfecto simple de indicativo de poder. | Sustancia blanquecina o amarillenta producida por el cuerpo durante procesos infecciosos. Está compuesto, principalmente, por microorganismos muertos, glóbulos blancos muertos, y restos de tejido dañado. |
Where the eye mixes pude and pus
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: pude vs pus
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: pude is [ˈpuð̞e] while pus is [ˈpus]. 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 noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 28804, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
pude is recorded at frequency rank #1,828, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈpuð̞e]. pus is at rank #26,976, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈpus].
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 28804, this pair ranks #220,184 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of pude vs pus
Shared letters: pu. Private to "pude": de. Private to "pus": s.
"pude" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "pus" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- pude ← pdue · ppude · pudde · pued · upde
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "pude" for "pus" ever safe?
In ordinary Spanish text, does "pude" or "pus" show up more?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "pude" and "pus" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "pude" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "pus" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #220,184 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "pude" and "pus" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "PRC vs pus". 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 #220,184 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.