Which to use
“slow” is an adjective and “so” is an adverb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #30,254
- “slow” frequency rank
- #3,151
- “so” frequency rank
- 33405
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | slow | so |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Lento. | Intensifica las cualidades, normalmente negativas, del sustantivo o adjetivo al que modifica. |
Where the eye mixes slow and so
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses slow with so
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: slow is /sləʊ/ while so is [so]. 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 (adjective vs adverb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 33405, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
slow is recorded at frequency rank #30,254, classified as anadj, pronounced /sləʊ/. so is at rank #3,151, tagged as anadv, pronounced [so].
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 33405, this pair ranks #196,985 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of slow vs so
Shared letters: os. Private to "slow": lw. Private to "so": -.
"slow" · 4 letters · shape CCVC · "so" · 2 letters · shape CV
Known mistypes of this pair
- slow ← lsow · sllow · sloww · slwo · solw · sslow
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "slow" for "so" ever safe?
Which is more common, "slow" or "so"?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "slow" and "so" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "slow" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "so" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #196,985 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "slow" and "so" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "slow 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 #196,985 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.