Which to use
“vago” is an adjective and “vals” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #9,054
- “vago” frequency rank
- #22,539
- “vals” frequency rank
- 31593
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | vago | vals |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Que no desea hacer tareas, ni actividad alguna. | Baile de pareja, de origen alemán, que se ejecuta con movimiento giratorio y de traslación, colocando el hombre su mano derecha en la cintura de la mujer y su izquierda en la mano derecha de ella. |
Where the eye mixes vago and vals
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between vago and vals
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: vago is [ˈbaɣ̞o] while vals is [ˈbals]. 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 31593, 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]. vals is at rank #22,539, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈbals].
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 31593, this pair ranks #206,291 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of vago vs vals
Shared letters: av. Private to "vago": go. Private to "vals": ls.
"vago" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "vals" · 4 letters · shape CVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "vago" for "vals" ever safe?
In ordinary Spanish text, does "vago" or "vals" show up more?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "vago" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "vals" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #206,291 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "vago" and "vals" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "vals vs vel". 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 #206,291 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.