TalvstosConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#191
“Tal” frequency rank
#9,550
“tos” frequency rank
9741
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Tal tos
Definition Valle. Contracción espasmódica repentina y a veces repetitiva de la cavidad torácica que resulta en una liberación violenta del aire de los pulmones produciendo un sonido característico.

Where the eye mixes Tal and tos

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence.

3 ch
Tal
3 ch
tos

Why the eye confuses Tal with tos

A purely visual mix-up. Tal ([taːl]) and tos ([ˈt̪os]) 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 9741, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Tal is recorded at frequency rank #191, classified as anoun, pronounced [taːl]. tos is at rank #9,550, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈt̪os].

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 9741, this pair ranks #300,969 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Tal vs tos

Shared letters: t. Private to "Tal": al. Private to "tos": os.

"Tal" · 3 letters · shape CVC  ·  "tos" · 3 letters · shape CVC

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Tal" and "tos" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([taːl] versus [ˈt̪os]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "Tal" or "tos"?
"Tal" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #191 in our Spanish list, against #9,550 for "tos". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Useful next steps

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Tal" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "tos" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #300,969 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Tal" and "tos" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "tos vs toys". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #300,969 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list