refugiovsrefugiosWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#4,191
“refugio” frequency rank
#18,372
“refugios” frequency rank
22563
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature refugio refugios
Definition Lugar en que ampararse, resguardarse, recibir protección, asilo o acogida. Forma del plural de refugio.

Where the eye mixes refugio and refugios

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence.

7 ch
refugio
8 ch
refugios

Visual trap between refugio and refugios

A purely visual mix-up. refugio ([reˈfuxjo]) and refugios ([reˈfuxjos]) 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 extra letter(s) - “refugio” sits inside “refugios”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 22563, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

refugio is recorded at frequency rank #4,191, classified as anoun, pronounced [reˈfuxjo]. refugios is at rank #18,372, tagged as anoun, pronounced [reˈfuxjos].

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 22563, this pair ranks #249,731 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of refugio vs refugios

Shared letters: efgioru. Private to "refugio": -. Private to "refugios": s.

"refugio" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVV  ·  "refugios" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCVVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • refugioerfugio · reffugio · refguio · refuggio · refugoi · refuigo · reufgio · rfeugio
  • refugioserfugios · reffugios · refguios · refuggios · refugioss · refugiso · refugois · refuigos

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "refugio" and "refugios" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([reˈfuxjo] versus [reˈfuxjos]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "refugio" or "refugios"?
"refugio" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #4,191 in our Spanish list, against #18,372 for "refugios". 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 "refugio" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "refugios" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #249,731 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "refugio" and "refugios" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "refugian vs refugios". 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 #249,731 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