Which to use
“sólo” is an adverb and “sous” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #127
- “sólo” frequency rank
- #48,705
- “sous” frequency rank
- 48832
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | sólo | sous |
|---|---|---|
| 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. | Forma del plural de sou. |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set sólo and sous apart are highlighted. They share 2 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: sólo is [ˈsolo] while sous is [ˈsows]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 3 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (adverb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 48832, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
sólo is recorded at frequency rank #127, classified as anadv, pronounced [ˈsolo]. sous is at rank #48,705, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈsows].
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 48832, this pair ranks #112,274 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of sólo vs sous
Shared letters: os. Private to "sólo": ló. Private to "sous": u.
"sólo" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "sous" · 4 letters · shape CVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- sous ← osus · sosu · souss · ssous
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "sólo" and "sous" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "sólo" or "sous"?
Remembering sólo vs sous
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 “sous”.
- 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