vecinovsvicioWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: vecino is a adjective, vicio is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“vecino” is an adjective and “vicio” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#2,689
“vecino” frequency rank
#7,938
“vicio” frequency rank
10627
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature vecino vicio
Definition Que reside en una ciudad, pueblo o barrio, respecto de otros que también lo hacen. Hábito pernicioso o disfuncional del carácter

Where the eye mixes vecino and vicio

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.

6 ch
vecino
5 ch
vicio

Visual trap between vecino and vicio

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: vecino is [beˈsino] while vicio is [ˈbisjo]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 10627, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

vecino is recorded at frequency rank #2,689, classified as anadj, pronounced [beˈsino]. vicio is at rank #7,938, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈbisjo].

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 10627, this pair ranks #297,970 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of vecino vs vicio

Shared letters: ciov. Private to "vecino": en. Private to "vicio": -.

"vecino" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV  ·  "vicio" · 5 letters · shape CVCVV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • vecinobecino · evcino · vceino · veccino · vecinno · vecion · vecnio · veicno
  • viciobicio · ivcio · vciio · viccio · vicoi · viico · visio · vvicio

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "vecino" and "vicio" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "vecino" is an adjective and "vicio" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Frequency check: "vecino" vs "vicio" - which ranks higher?
"vecino" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,689 in our Spanish list, against #7,938 for "vicio". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "vecino" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "vicio" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #297,970 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "vecino" and "vicio" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "vicio vs violo". 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 #297,970 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list