Which to use
“adecuado” is an adjective and “adecuados” is a participle - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #3,297
- “adecuado” frequency rank
- #9,066
- “adecuados” frequency rank
- 12363
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | adecuado | adecuados |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Lo que es a propósito y acomodado para alguna cosa. | Forma del plural de adecuado, participio de adecuar o de adecuarse. |
Where the eye mixes adecuado and adecuados
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. adecuado runs 8 letters (VCVCVVCV) against adecuados's 9 (VCVCVVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: adecuado vs adecuados
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: adecuado is [að̞eˈkwað̞o] while adecuados is [að̞eˈkwað̞os]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “adecuado” sits inside “adecuados”, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs participle), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 12363, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
adecuado is recorded at frequency rank #3,297, classified as anadj, pronounced [að̞eˈkwað̞o]. adecuados is at rank #9,066, tagged as aparticiple, pronounced [að̞eˈkwað̞os].
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 12363, this pair ranks #291,819 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of adecuado vs adecuados
Shared letters: acdeou. Private to "adecuado": -. Private to "adecuados": s.
"adecuado" · 8 letters · shape VCVCVVCV · "adecuados" · 9 letters · shape VCVCVVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "adecuado" for "adecuados" ever safe?
In ordinary Spanish text, does "adecuado" or "adecuados" show up more?
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 "adecuado" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "adecuados" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #291,819 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "adecuado" and "adecuados" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "adecuado vs adecuar". 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 #291,819 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.