TomásvstosTell them apart

Quick tell: Tomás is a name, tos is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“Tomás” is a name and “tos” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#4,384
“Tomás” frequency rank
#9,550
“tos” frequency rank
13934
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Tomás tos
Definition Nombre de pila de varón. 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 Tomás and tos

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.

5 ch
Tomás
3 ch
tos

Look-alike desk: Tomás vs tos

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Tomás is [t̪oˈmas] while tos is [ˈt̪os]. 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 (name vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 13934, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Tomás is recorded at frequency rank #4,384, classified as aname, pronounced [t̪oˈmas]. 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 13934, this pair ranks #286,017 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Tomás vs tos

Shared letters: ost. Private to "Tomás": . Private to "tos": -.

"Tomás" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC  ·  "tos" · 3 letters · shape CVC

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "Tomás" for "tos" ever safe?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "Tomás" is a name and "tos" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Frequency check: "Tomás" vs "tos" - which ranks higher?
"Tomás" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #4,384 in our Spanish list, against #9,550 for "tos". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "Tomás" 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 #286,017 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Tomás" and "tos" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "tos vs toys". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #286,017 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