surcovssustoWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“surco” and “susto” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#24,664
“surco” frequency rank
#9,548
“susto” frequency rank
34212
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature surco susto
Definition Franja de tierra hendida por el arado. Conmoción repentina del ánimo producida por el miedo y la sorpresa.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set surco and susto apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
surco
5 ch
susto

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. surco ([ˈsuɾko]) and susto ([ˈsust̪o]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 34212, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

surco is recorded at frequency rank #24,664, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈsuɾko]. susto is at rank #9,548, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈsust̪o].

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 34212, this pair ranks #192,641 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of surco vs susto

Shared letters: osu. Private to "surco": cr. Private to "susto": t.

"surco" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV  ·  "susto" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • surcosruco · ssurco · sucro · surcco · suroc · surrco · usrco
  • sustossusto · ssuto · susot · sussto · sustto · sutso · ussto

Frequency comparison

surco#24,664
susto#9,548

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "surco" and "susto" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈsuɾko] versus [ˈsust̪o]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "surco" or "susto"?
"susto" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #9,548 in our Spanish list, against #24,664 for "surco". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering surco vs susto

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “surco” 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