adaptanvsadoptaConfusable pair

Which to use

“adaptan” and “adopta” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#27,081
“adaptan” frequency rank
#9,756
“adopta” frequency rank
36837
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature adaptan adopta
Definition Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de adaptar o de adaptarse. Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de adoptar.

Where the eye mixes adaptan and adopta

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. adaptan runs 7 letters (VCVCCVC) against adopta's 6 (VCVCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

7 ch
adaptan
6 ch
adopta

Why the eye confuses adaptan with adopta

A purely visual mix-up. adaptan ([aˈð̞apt̪ãn]) and adopta ([aˈð̞opt̪a]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 36837, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

adaptan is recorded at frequency rank #27,081, classified as averb, pronounced [aˈð̞apt̪ãn]. adopta is at rank #9,756, tagged as averb, pronounced [aˈð̞opt̪a].

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 36837, this pair ranks #178,516 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of adaptan vs adopta

Shared letters: adpt. Private to "adaptan": n. Private to "adopta": o.

"adaptan" · 7 letters · shape VCVCCVC  ·  "adopta" · 6 letters · shape VCVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • adaptan ← aadptan · adapatn · adapptan · adaptann · adaptna · adapttan · adatpan · addaptan
  • adopta ← addopta · adopat · adoppta · adoptta · adotpa · adpota · aodpta · daopta

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "adaptan" for "adopta" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([aˈð̞apt̪ãn] versus [aˈð̞opt̪a]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "adaptan" or "adopta"?
"adopta" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #9,756 in our Spanish list, against #27,081 for "adaptan". 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 "adaptan" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "adopta" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #178,516 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "adaptan" and "adopta" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "adaptan vs apartan". 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 #178,516 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