tomatesvstomesWhich spelling fits?

Quick tell: tomates is a noun, tomes is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“tomates” is a noun and “tomes” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#12,266
“tomates” frequency rank
#9,906
“tomes” frequency rank
22172
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature tomates tomes
Definition Forma del plural de tomate. Segunda persona del singular (tú) del presente de subjuntivo de tomar o de tomarse.

Where the eye mixes tomates and tomes

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.

7 ch
tomates
5 ch
tomes

Why the eye confuses tomates with tomes

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: tomates is [t̪oˈmat̪es] while tomes is [ˈt̪omes]. 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 verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 22172, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

tomates is recorded at frequency rank #12,266, classified as anoun, pronounced [t̪oˈmat̪es]. tomes is at rank #9,906, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈt̪omes].

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 22172, this pair ranks #251,578 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of tomates vs tomes

Shared letters: emost. Private to "tomates": a. Private to "tomes": -.

"tomates" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC  ·  "tomes" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • tomatesotmates · tmoates · toamtes · tomaets · tomatess · tomatse · tomattes · tommates
  • tomesotmes · tmoes · toems · tomess · tommes · tomse · ttomes

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "tomates" and "tomes" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "tomates" is a noun and "tomes" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
In ordinary Spanish text, does "tomates" or "tomes" show up more?
"tomes" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #9,906 in our Spanish list, against #12,266 for "tomates". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

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 "tomates" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "tomes" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #251,578 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "tomates" and "tomes" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "tomase vs tomates". 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 #251,578 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