Which to use
“único” and “únicos” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #368
- “único” frequency rank
- #3,531
- “únicos” frequency rank
- 3899
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | único | únicos |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Dícese de lo que hay uno y solo un ejemplar. | Forma del masculino plural de único. |
Where the eye mixes único and únicos
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. único runs 5 letters (VCVCV) against únicos's 6 (VCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses único with únicos
A purely visual mix-up. único ([ˈuniko]) and únicos ([ˈunikos]) 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 extra letter(s) - “único” sits inside “únicos”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 3899, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
único is recorded at frequency rank #368, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈuniko]. únicos is at rank #3,531, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈunikos].
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 3899, this pair ranks #317,324 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of único vs únicos
Shared letters: cinoú. Private to "único": -. Private to "únicos": s.
"único" · 5 letters · shape VCVCV · "únicos" · 6 letters · shape VCVCVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "único" for "únicos" ever safe?
Frequency check: "único" vs "únicos" - which ranks higher?
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 "único" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "únicos" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #317,324 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "único" and "únicos" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Unicode vs únicos". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #317,324 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.