Which to use
“tonto” and “tontos” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #3,368
- “tonto” frequency rank
- #5,902
- “tontos” frequency rank
- 9270
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | tonto | tontos |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Falto de inteligencia o entendimiento. | Forma del plural de tonto. |
Where the eye mixes tonto and tontos
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses tonto with tontos
A purely visual mix-up. tonto ([ˈt̪õn̪t̪o]) and tontos ([ˈt̪õn̪t̪os]) 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 extra letter(s) - “tonto” sits inside “tontos”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 9270, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
tonto is recorded at frequency rank #3,368, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈt̪õn̪t̪o]. tontos is at rank #5,902, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈt̪õn̪t̪os].
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 9270, this pair ranks #302,432 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of tonto vs tontos
Shared letters: not. Private to "tonto": -. Private to "tontos": s.
"tonto" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV · "tontos" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "tonto" and "tontos" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary Spanish text, does "tonto" or "tontos" show up more?
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 "tonto" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "tontos" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #302,432 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "tonto" and "tontos" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "tintos vs tontos". 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 #302,432 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.