toquenvstoquesWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

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

#13,803
“toquen” frequency rank
#9,212
“toques” frequency rank
23015
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature toquen toques
Definition Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de subjuntivo de tocar. Forma del plural de toque.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set toquen and toques apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
toquen
6 ch
toques

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: toquen is [ˈt̪okẽn] while toques is [ˈt̪okes]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - n in “toquen” becomes s in “toques”, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 23015, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

toquen is recorded at frequency rank #13,803, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈt̪okẽn]. toques is at rank #9,212, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈt̪okes].

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 23015, this pair ranks #247,741 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of toquen vs toques

Shared letters: eoqtu. Private to "toquen": n. Private to "toques": s.

"toquen" · 6 letters · shape CVCVVC  ·  "toques" · 6 letters · shape CVCVVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • toquenotquen · toqeun · toqquen · toquenn · toqune · touqen · tqouen · ttoquen
  • toquesotques · toqeus · toqques · toquess · toquse · touqes · tqoues · ttoques

Frequency comparison

toquen#13,803
toques#9,212

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "toquen" and "toques" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "toquen" is a verb and "toques" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "toquen" or "toques"?
"toques" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #9,212 in our Spanish list, against #13,803 for "toquen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering toquen vs toques

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “toquen”; for a noun, it's “toques”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “toquen” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list