pusvsputasConfusable pair

Quick tell: pus is a noun, putas is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

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

#26,976
“pus” frequency rank
#3,354
“putas” frequency rank
30330
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature pus putas
Definition 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. Forma del plural de puta.

Where the eye mixes pus and putas

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.

3 ch
pus
5 ch
putas

Visual trap between pus and putas

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: pus is [ˈpus] while putas is [ˈput̪as]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 30330, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

pus is recorded at frequency rank #26,976, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈpus]. putas is at rank #3,354, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈput̪as].

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 30330, this pair ranks #212,514 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of pus vs putas

Shared letters: psu. Private to "pus": -. Private to "putas": at.

"pus" · 3 letters · shape CVC  ·  "putas" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • putaspputas · ptuas · puats · putass · putsa · puttas · uptas

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "pus" for "putas" ever safe?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "pus" is a noun and "putas" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "pus" or "putas"?
"putas" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,354 in our Spanish list, against #26,976 for "pus". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

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 "pus" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "putas" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #212,514 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "pus" and "putas" 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 #212,514 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