Which to use
“spy” is a noun and “sto” is a num - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #48,092
- “spy” frequency rank
- #36,304
- “sto” frequency rank
- 84396
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | spy | sto |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Espía. | Ciento. |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set spy and sto apart are highlighted. They share 1 letter 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: spy is /spaɪ/ while sto is [ˈsto]. 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 (noun vs num), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 84396, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
spy is recorded at frequency rank #48,092, classified as anoun, pronounced /spaɪ/. 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 84396, this pair ranks #7,095 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of spy vs sto
Shared letters: s. Private to "spy": py. Private to "sto": ot.
"spy" · 3 letters · shape CCV · "sto" · 3 letters · shape CCV
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "spy" and "sto" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "spy" or "sto"?
Remembering spy vs sto
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “spy”; for a num, it's “sto”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “spy” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable