tosvstulConfusable pair

Which to use

“tos” and “tul” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#9,550
“tos” frequency rank
#47,471
“tul” frequency rank
57021
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature tos tul
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. Tejido delgado y transparente que permite pasar la luz.

Where the eye mixes tos and tul

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence. tos and tul follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.

3 ch
tos
3 ch
tul

Visual trap between tos and tul

A purely visual mix-up. tos ([ˈt̪os]) and tul ([ˈt̪ul]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 57021, 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]. tul is at rank #47,471, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈt̪ul].

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 57021, this pair ranks #72,193 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of tos vs tul

Shared letters: t. Private to "tos": os. Private to "tul": lu.

"tos" · 3 letters · shape CVC  ·  "tul" · 3 letters · shape CVC

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "tos" for "tul" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈt̪os] versus [ˈt̪ul]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary Spanish text, does "tos" or "tul" show up more?
"tos" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #9,550 in our Spanish list, against #47,471 for "tul". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "tos" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "tul" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #72,193 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "tos" and "tul" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "tale vs tul". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #72,193 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