Which to use
“vacío” and “vano” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #2,753
- “vacío” frequency rank
- #7,502
- “vano” frequency rank
- 10255
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | vacío | vano |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Que físicamente no contiene nada. | Que no da fruto ni efecto alguno. |
Where the eye mixes vacío and vano
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: vacío vs vano
A purely visual mix-up. vacío ([baˈsio]) and vano ([ˈbano]) 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 10255, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
vacío is recorded at frequency rank #2,753, classified as anadj, pronounced [baˈsio]. vano is at rank #7,502, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈbano].
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 10255, this pair ranks #299,284 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of vacío vs vano
Shared letters: aov. Private to "vacío": cí. Private to "vano": n.
"vacío" · 5 letters · shape CVCVV · "vano" · 4 letters · shape CVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- vano ← avno · bano · vanno · vaon · vnao · vvano
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "vacío" and "vano" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary Spanish text, does "vacío" or "vano" show up more?
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 "vacío" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "vano" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #299,284 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "vacío" and "vano" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "vano vs vento". 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 #299,284 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.