xenofobiavsxenófobosWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

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

#16,488
“xenofobia” frequency rank
#37,914
“xenófobos” frequency rank
54402
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature xenofobia xenófobos
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. Forma del masculino plural de xenófobo.

Where the spellings diverge

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

9 ch
xenofobia
9 ch
xenófobos

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: xenofobia is [senoˈfoβ̞ja] while xenófobos is [seˈnofoβ̞os]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 3 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 54402, 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]. xenófobos is at rank #37,914, tagged as anadj, pronounced [seˈnofoβ̞os].

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 54402, this pair ranks #83,483 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of xenofobia vs xenófobos

Shared letters: befnox. Private to "xenofobia": ai. Private to "xenófobos": .

"xenofobia" · 9 letters · shape CVCVCVCVV  ·  "xenófobos" · 9 letters · shape CVCVCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

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

Frequency comparison

xenofobia#16,488
xenófobos#37,914

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "xenofobia" and "xenófobos" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "xenofobia" is a noun and "xenófobos" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "xenofobia" or "xenófobos"?
"xenofobia" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #16,488 in our Spanish list, against #37,914 for "xenófobos". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering xenofobia vs xenófobos

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 “xenófobos”.
  • 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