Which to use
“sólo” is an adverb and “subo” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #127
- “sólo” frequency rank
- #11,319
- “subo” frequency rank
- 11446
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | sólo | subo |
|---|---|---|
| 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. | Primera persona del singular (yo) del presente de indicativo de subir o de subirse. |
Where the eye mixes sólo and subo
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses sólo with subo
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: sólo is [ˈsolo] while subo is [ˈsuβ̞o]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (adverb vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 11446, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
sólo is recorded at frequency rank #127, classified as anadv, pronounced [ˈsolo]. subo is at rank #11,319, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈsuβ̞o].
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 11446, this pair ranks #295,088 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of sólo vs subo
Shared letters: os. Private to "sólo": ló. Private to "subo": bu.
"sólo" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "subo" · 4 letters · shape CVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- subo ← sbuo · ssubo · subbo · suob · suvo · usbo
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "sólo" for "subo" ever safe?
Frequency check: "sólo" vs "subo" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "sólo" and "subo" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "sólo" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "subo" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #295,088 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "sólo" and "subo" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "subís vs subo". 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 #295,088 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.