Which to use
“sanos” is an adjective and “signos” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #12,474
- “sanos” frequency rank
- #4,553
- “signos” frequency rank
- 17027
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | sanos | signos |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Forma del masculino plural de sano. | Forma del plural de signo. |
Where the eye mixes sanos and signos
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. sanos runs 5 letters (CVCVC) against signos's 6 (CVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: sanos vs signos
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: sanos is [ˈsanos] while signos is [ˈsiɣ̞nos]. 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 (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 17027, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
sanos is recorded at frequency rank #12,474, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈsanos]. signos is at rank #4,553, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈsiɣ̞nos].
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 17027, this pair ranks #273,832 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of sanos vs signos
Shared letters: nos. Private to "sanos": a. Private to "signos": gi.
"sanos" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC · "signos" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "sanos" for "signos" ever safe?
In ordinary Spanish text, does "sanos" or "signos" show up more?
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 "sanos" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "signos" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #273,832 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "sanos" and "signos" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "sanos vs snob". 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 #273,832 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.