Which to use
“tomillo” and “tornillo” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #37,882
- “tomillo” frequency rank
- #18,103
- “tornillo” frequency rank
- 55985
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | tomillo | tornillo |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | (Thymus spp) Nombre común en español con el que se conocen a diversas plantas del género Thymus, de la familia de las labiadas (Lamiales) (Lamiaceae). El más común y conocido es Thymus vulgaris, que se emplea como condimento y como planta medicinal. Los tomillos son plantas perennes, de tallo leñoso, de escasa altura, que viven en suelos pobres y pedregosos de regiones secas. Sus hojas son diminutas y poseen esencias aromáticas. | Pieza de forma cilíndrica o cónica, con una estría helicoidal a lo largo que permite enroscarla en otro objeto. Algunos pueden enroscarse solos, otros requieren tuercas para fijarlos. |
Where the eye mixes tomillo and tornillo
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses tomillo with tornillo
A purely visual mix-up. tomillo ([t̪oˈmiʝo]) and tornillo ([t̪oɾˈniʝo]) 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 55985, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
tomillo is recorded at frequency rank #37,882, classified as anoun, pronounced [t̪oˈmiʝo]. tornillo is at rank #18,103, tagged as anoun, pronounced [t̪oɾˈniʝo].
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 55985, this pair ranks #76,491 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of tomillo vs tornillo
Shared letters: ilot. Private to "tomillo": m. Private to "tornillo": nr.
"tomillo" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCCV · "tornillo" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "tomillo" for "tornillo" ever safe?
Frequency check: "tomillo" vs "tornillo" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "tomillo" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "tornillo" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #76,491 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "tomillo" and "tornillo" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "tomillo vs trillo". 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 #76,491 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.