viovsvisWhich spelling fits?

Quick tell: vio is a verb, vis is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“vio” is a verb and “vis” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#1,334
“vio” frequency rank
#25,863
“vis” frequency rank
27197
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature vio vis
Definition Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del pretérito perfecto simple de indicativo de ver o de verse. Fuerza, vigor.

Where the eye mixes vio and vis

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.

3 ch
vio
3 ch
vis

Look-alike desk: vio vs vis

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: vio is [ˈbjo] while vis is [ˈbis]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - o in “vio” becomes s in “vis”, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 27197, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

vio is recorded at frequency rank #1,334, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈbjo]. vis is at rank #25,863, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈbis].

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 27197, this pair ranks #228,003 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of vio vs vis

Shared letters: iv. Private to "vio": o. Private to "vis": s.

"vio" · 3 letters · shape CVV  ·  "vis" · 3 letters · shape CVC

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "vio" and "vis" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "vio" is a verb and "vis" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "vio" or "vis"?
"vio" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,334 in our Spanish list, against #25,863 for "vis". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Useful next steps

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "vio" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "vis" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #228,003 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "vio" and "vis" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "vis vs VOR". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #228,003 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