Which to use
“vado” is a noun and “vais” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #40,589
- “vado” frequency rank
- #7,934
- “vais” frequency rank
- 48523
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | vado | vais |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Sitio firme, parejo y de poca profundidad, por donde se puede cruzar un río. | Segunda persona del plural (vosotros, vosotras) del presente de indicativo de ir o de irse. |
Where the eye mixes vado and vais
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence. vado (CVCV) and vais (CVVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Look-alike desk: vado vs vais
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: vado is [ˈbað̞o] while vais is [ˈbajs]. 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 48523, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
vado is recorded at frequency rank #40,589, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈbað̞o]. vais is at rank #7,934, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈbajs].
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 48523, this pair ranks #114,014 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of vado vs vais
Shared letters: av. Private to "vado": do. Private to "vais": is.
"vado" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "vais" · 4 letters · shape CVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "vado" and "vais" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary Spanish text, does "vado" or "vais" 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 "vado" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "vais" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #114,014 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "vado" and "vais" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "vado vs ved". 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 #114,014 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.