tíosvstoWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: tíos is a noun, to is a num, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“tíos” is a noun and “to” is a num - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#9,742
“tíos” frequency rank
#1,128
“to” frequency rank
10870
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature tíos to
Definition Forma del plural de tío. Dos.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set tíos and to apart are highlighted. They share 2 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

4 ch
tíos
2 ch
to

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: tíos is [ˈt̪ios] while to is [toːˀ]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs num), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 10870, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

tíos is recorded at frequency rank #9,742, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈt̪ios]. to is at rank #1,128, tagged as anum, pronounced [toːˀ].

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 10870, this pair ranks #297,091 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of tíos vs to

Shared letters: ot. Private to "tíos": . Private to "to": -.

"tíos" · 4 letters · shape CVVC  ·  "to" · 2 letters · shape CV

Frequency comparison

tíos#9,742
to#1,128

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "tíos" and "to" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "tíos" is a noun and "to" a num, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "tíos" or "to"?
"to" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,128 in our Spanish list, against #9,742 for "tíos". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering tíos vs to

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “tíos”; for a num, it's “to”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “tíos” 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