tosvstunTell them apart

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

Which to use

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

#9,550
“tos” frequency rank
#34,821
“tun” frequency rank
44371
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature tos tun
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. Pasar, (acaecer).

Where the eye mixes tos and tun

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence.

3 ch
tos
3 ch
tun

Look-alike desk: tos vs tun

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: tos is [ˈt̪os] while tun is [ˈtuːn]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 44371, 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]. tun is at rank #34,821, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈtuːn].

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 44371, this pair ranks #137,444 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of tos vs tun

Shared letters: t. Private to "tos": os. Private to "tun": nu.

"tos" · 3 letters · shape CVC  ·  "tun" · 3 letters · shape CVC

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "tos" and "tun" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "tos" is a noun and "tun" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "tos" or "tun"?
"tos" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #9,550 in our Spanish list, against #34,821 for "tun". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

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 "tos" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "tun" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #137,444 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "tos" and "tun" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "tul vs tun". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #137,444 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