tíosvsTOCTell them apart

Which to use

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

#9,742
“tíos” frequency rank
#17,835
“TOC” frequency rank
27577
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature tíos TOC
Definition Forma del plural de tío. Trastorno caracterizado por pensamientos intrusivos, repetitivos y persistentes que producen gran ansiedad y otras molestias que el afectado trata de mitigar mediante rituales repetitivos denominados compulsiones.

Where the eye mixes tíos and TOC

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence. tíos runs 4 letters (CVVC) against TOC's 3 (CVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

4 ch
tíos
3 ch
TOC

Why the eye confuses tíos with TOC

A purely visual mix-up. tíos ([ˈt̪ios]) and TOC ([ˈt̪ok]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 27577, 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]. TOC is at rank #17,835, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈt̪ok].

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 27577, this pair ranks #226,141 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of tíos vs TOC

Shared letters: ot. Private to "tíos": sí. Private to "TOC": c.

"tíos" · 4 letters · shape CVVC  ·  "TOC" · 3 letters · shape CVC

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "tíos" and "TOC" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ˈt̪ios] versus [ˈt̪ok]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "tíos" or "TOC"?
"tíos" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #9,742 in our Spanish list, against #17,835 for "TOC". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "tíos" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "TOC" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #226,141 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "tíos" and "TOC" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "TOC vs toys". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #226,141 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