Which to use
“timidez” is a noun and “tímido” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #23,249
- “timidez” frequency rank
- #15,749
- “tímido” frequency rank
- 38998
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | timidez | tímido |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Reacción de inseguridad y vergüenza de una persona, que puede ir acompañada de rubor y sudoración, y en algunos casos llega hasta la incapacidad para actuar. | Que reacciona de forma insegura y con vergüenza ante el contacto o la presencia de otros, que siente timidez. |
Where the eye mixes timidez and tímido
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. timidez runs 7 letters (CVCVCVC) against tímido's 6 (CVCVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between timidez and tímido
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: timidez is [t̪imiˈð̞es] while tímido is [ˈt̪imið̞o]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 38998, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
timidez is recorded at frequency rank #23,249, classified as anoun, pronounced [t̪imiˈð̞es]. tímido is at rank #15,749, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈt̪imið̞o].
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 38998, this pair ranks #166,940 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of timidez vs tímido
Shared letters: dimt. Private to "timidez": ez. Private to "tímido": oí.
"timidez" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC · "tímido" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- timidez ← itmidez · tiimdez · timdiez · timiddez · timidezz · timidze · timiedz · timmidez
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "timidez" for "tímido" ever safe?
In ordinary Spanish text, does "timidez" or "tímido" show up more?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "timidez" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "tímido" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #166,940 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "timidez" and "tímido" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "timidez vs tímidos". 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 #166,940 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.