slowvsstoConfusable pair

Quick tell: slow is a adjective, sto is a num, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“slow” is an adjective and “sto” is a num - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#30,254
“slow” frequency rank
#36,304
“sto” frequency rank
66558
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature slow sto
Definition Lento. Ciento.

Where the eye mixes slow and sto

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.

4 ch
slow
3 ch
sto

Why the eye confuses slow with sto

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: slow is /sləʊ/ while sto is [ˈsto]. 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 num), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 66558, 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/. sto is at rank #36,304, tagged as anum, pronounced [ˈsto].

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 66558, this pair ranks #39,553 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of slow vs sto

Shared letters: os. Private to "slow": lw. Private to "sto": t.

"slow" · 4 letters · shape CCVC  ·  "sto" · 3 letters · shape CCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • slowlsow · sllow · sloww · slwo · solw · sslow

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "slow" and "sto" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "slow" is an adjective and "sto" a num, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Frequency check: "slow" vs "sto" - which ranks higher?
"slow" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #30,254 in our Spanish list, against #36,304 for "sto". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "slow" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "sto" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #39,553 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "slow" and "sto" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "stem vs sto". 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 #39,553 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