Which to use
“tosco” and “tóxico” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #39,491
- “tosco” frequency rank
- #13,578
- “tóxico” frequency rank
- 53069
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | tosco | tóxico |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Dicho de una cosa, hecho sin refinamiento, con materia prima ordinaria que no ha sido pulida o embellecida. | Que por contacto, ingesta o inoculación resulta dañino, destructivo o aún letal para las funciones de un organismo vivo. |
Where the eye mixes tosco and tóxico
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. tosco runs 5 letters (CVCCV) against tóxico's 6 (CVCVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses tosco with tóxico
A purely visual mix-up. tosco ([ˈt̪osko]) and tóxico ([ˈt̪oksiko]) 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 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 53069, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
tosco is recorded at frequency rank #39,491, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈt̪osko]. tóxico is at rank #13,578, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈt̪oksiko].
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 53069, this pair ranks #89,648 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of tosco vs tóxico
Shared letters: cot. Private to "tosco": s. Private to "tóxico": ixó.
"tosco" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV · "tóxico" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- tosco ← otsco · tocso · toscco · tosoc · tossco · tsoco · ttosco
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "tosco" for "tóxico" ever safe?
Frequency check: "tosco" vs "tóxico" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "tosco" and "tóxico" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "tosco" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "tóxico" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #89,648 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "tosco" and "tóxico" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "toldo vs tosco". 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 #89,648 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.