Which to use
“activa” is an adjective and “active” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #2,434
- “activa” frequency rank
- #17,585
- “active” frequency rank
- 20019
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | activa | active |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Forma del femenino singular de activo. | Primera persona del singular (yo) del presente de subjuntivo de activar. |
Where the eye mixes activa and active
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: activa vs active
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: activa is [akˈt̪iβ̞a] while active is [akˈt̪iβ̞e]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - a in “activa” becomes e in “active”, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 20019, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
activa is recorded at frequency rank #2,434, classified as anadj, pronounced [akˈt̪iβ̞a]. active is at rank #17,585, tagged as averb, pronounced [akˈt̪iβ̞e].
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 20019, this pair ranks #261,161 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of activa vs active
Shared letters: acitv. Private to "activa": -. Private to "active": e.
"activa" · 6 letters · shape VCCVCV · "active" · 6 letters · shape VCCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "activa" for "active" ever safe?
In ordinary Spanish text, does "activa" or "active" show up more?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "activa" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "active" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #261,161 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "activa" and "active" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "active vs activen". 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 #261,161 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.