Which to use
“vago” is an adjective and “vale” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #9,054
- “vago” frequency rank
- #638
- “vale” frequency rank
- 9692
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | vago | vale |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Que no desea hacer tareas, ni actividad alguna. | Documento de pago o sustitución de algo. |
Where the eye mixes vago and vale
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between vago and vale
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: vago is [ˈbaɣ̞o] while vale is [ˈbale]. 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 (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 9692, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
vago is recorded at frequency rank #9,054, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈbaɣ̞o]. vale is at rank #638, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈbale].
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 9692, this pair ranks #301,119 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of vago vs vale
Shared letters: av. Private to "vago": go. Private to "vale": el.
"vago" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "vale" · 4 letters · shape CVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "vago" for "vale" ever safe?
In ordinary Spanish text, does "vago" or "vale" show up more?
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 "vago" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "vale" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #301,119 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "vago" and "vale" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "vago vs viso". 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 #301,119 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.