Which to use
“sólo” is an adverb and “son” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #127
- “sólo” frequency rank
- #40
- “son” frequency rank
- 167
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | sólo | son |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Grafía alternativa de solo (adverbio). Cada vez que deba entenderse como equivalente de solamente y sea posible la confusión con el adjetivo homónimo, es optativo tildar la palabra para desambiguar. | Sonido rítmico. |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set sólo and son apart are highlighted. They share 2 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
sólo and son form a confusable pair in the Spanish index, two distinct headwords that are easily confused because they look alike, sound alike, or both. They differ by 1 letter(s) in length - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 167, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
sólo is recorded at frequency rank #127, classified as anadv, pronounced [ˈsolo]. son is at rank #40, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈsõn].
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 167, this pair ranks #323,715 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "sólo" and "son" be used interchangeably?
Remembering sólo vs son
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need an adverb, it's “sólo”; for a noun, it's “son”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “sólo” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable