vaciarvsvacíosWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

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

#22,894
“vaciar” frequency rank
#9,916
“vacíos” frequency rank
32810
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature vaciar vacíos
Definition Retirar el interior o contenido de algo. Forma del plural de vacío.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set vaciar and vacíos apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
vaciar
6 ch
vacíos

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: vaciar is [baˈsjaɾ] while vacíos is [baˈsios]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 3 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 32810, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

vaciar is recorded at frequency rank #22,894, classified as averb, pronounced [baˈsjaɾ]. vacíos is at rank #9,916, tagged as anoun, pronounced [baˈsios].

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 32810, this pair ranks #200,078 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of vaciar vs vacíos

Shared letters: acv. Private to "vaciar": ir. Private to "vacíos": osí.

"vaciar" · 6 letters · shape CVCVVC  ·  "vacíos" · 6 letters · shape CVCVVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • vaciaravciar · baciar · vacair · vacciar · vaciarr · vacira · vaicar · vasiar

Frequency comparison

vaciar#22,894
vacíos#9,916

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "vaciar" and "vacíos" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "vaciar" is a verb and "vacíos" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "vaciar" or "vacíos"?
"vacíos" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #9,916 in our Spanish list, against #22,894 for "vaciar". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering vaciar vs vacíos

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “vaciar”; for a noun, it's “vacíos”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “vaciar” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list