solvssoltóWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

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

#716
“sol” frequency rank
#16,457
“soltó” frequency rank
17173
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature sol soltó
Definition Estrella del sistema planetario en el que se encuentra la Tierra. 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 sol and soltó apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

3 ch
sol
5 ch
soltó

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: sol is [ˈsol] while soltó is [sol̪ˈt̪o]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “sol” sits inside “soltó”, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 17173, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

sol is recorded at frequency rank #716, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈsol]. 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 17173, this pair ranks #273,257 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of sol vs soltó

Shared letters: los. Private to "sol": -. Private to "soltó": .

"sol" · 3 letters · shape CVC  ·  "soltó" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV

Frequency comparison

sol#716
soltó#16,457

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "sol" and "soltó" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "sol" is a noun and "soltó" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "sol" or "soltó"?
"sol" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #716 in our Spanish list, against #16,457 for "soltó". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering sol vs soltó

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “sol”; for a verb, it's “soltó”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “sol” 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