satovssoltóWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: sato is a noun, soltó is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“sato” is a noun and “soltó” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#36,283
“sato” frequency rank
#16,457
“soltó” frequency rank
52740
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature sato soltó
Definition Tierra sembrada, hayan o no germinado y crecido las semillas. Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del pretérito perfecto simple de indicativo de soltar.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set sato and soltó apart are highlighted. They share 2 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

4 ch
sato
5 ch
soltó

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: sato is [ˈsat̪o] while soltó is [sol̪ˈt̪o]. 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 (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 52740, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

sato is recorded at frequency rank #36,283, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈsat̪o]. soltó is at rank #16,457, tagged as averb, pronounced [sol̪ˈt̪o].

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 52740, this pair ranks #91,249 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of sato vs soltó

Shared letters: ost. Private to "sato": a. Private to "soltó": .

"sato" · 4 letters · shape CVCV  ·  "soltó" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • satoasto · saot · satto · ssato · stao

Frequency comparison

sato#36,283
soltó#16,457

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "sato" and "soltó" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "sato" is a noun and "soltó" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "sato" or "soltó"?
"soltó" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #16,457 in our Spanish list, against #36,283 for "sato". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering sato vs soltó

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “sato”; for a verb, it's “soltó”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “sato” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list