xenofobiavsxenófoboWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: xenofobia is a noun, xenófobo is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

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

#16,488
“xenofobia” frequency rank
#40,081
“xenófobo” frequency rank
56569
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature xenofobia xenófobo
Definition Prejuicios con recelo, odio, fobia y rechazo contra los extranjeros, o, en general, contra los grupos étnicos diferentes, o contra personas cuya fisionomía social y cultural se desconoce. Que tiene prejuicios con recelo u odio o fobia o rechazo contra los extranjeros, o, en general, contra los grupos étnicos diferentes, o contra personas cuya fisionomía social y cultural se desconoce.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set xenofobia and xenófobo apart are highlighted. They share 6 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

9 ch
xenofobia
8 ch
xenófobo

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: xenofobia is [senoˈfoβ̞ja] while xenófobo is [seˈnofoβ̞o]. 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 (noun vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 56569, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

xenofobia is recorded at frequency rank #16,488, classified as anoun, pronounced [senoˈfoβ̞ja]. xenófobo is at rank #40,081, tagged as anadj, pronounced [seˈnofoβ̞o].

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 56569, this pair ranks #74,073 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of xenofobia vs xenófobo

Shared letters: befnox. Private to "xenofobia": ai. Private to "xenófobo": ó.

"xenofobia" · 9 letters · shape CVCVCVCVV  ·  "xenófobo" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • xenofobiaexnofobia · xenfoobia · xennofobia · xenofboia · xenoffobia · xenofobai · xenofobbia · xenofoiba

Frequency comparison

xenofobia#16,488
xenófobo#40,081

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "xenofobia" and "xenófobo" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "xenofobia" is a noun and "xenófobo" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "xenofobia" or "xenófobo"?
"xenofobia" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #16,488 in our Spanish list, against #40,081 for "xenófobo". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering xenofobia vs xenófobo

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “xenofobia”; for an adjective, it's “xenófobo”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “xenofobia” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list