Which to use
“tos” is a noun and “tú” is a pronoun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #9,550
- “tos” frequency rank
- #310
- “tú” frequency rank
- 9860
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | tos | tú |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 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. | Nominativo y vocativo del pronombre personal de la segunda persona del singular. |
Where the eye mixes tos and tú
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence.
Visual trap between tos and tú
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: tos is [ˈt̪os] while tú is [ˈt̪u]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs pronoun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 9860, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
tos is recorded at frequency rank #9,550, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈt̪os]. tú is at rank #310, tagged as apron, pronounced [ˈt̪u].
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 9860, this pair ranks #300,599 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of tos vs tú
Shared letters: t. Private to "tos": os. Private to "tú": ú.
"tos" · 3 letters · shape CVC · "tú" · 2 letters · shape CV
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "tos" and "tú" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary Spanish text, does "tos" or "tú" show up more?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "tos" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "tú" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #300,599 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "tos" and "tú" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "tos vs toys". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #300,599 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.