adecuadovsadecuadosWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: adecuado is a adjective, adecuados is a participle, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

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 spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set adecuado and adecuados apart are highlighted. They share 8 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

8 ch
adecuado
9 ch
adecuados

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

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

  • adecuadoadceuado · addecuado · adecaudo · adeccuado · adecuaddo · adecuaod · adecudao · adeucado
  • adecuadosadceuados · addecuados · adecaudos · adeccuados · adecuaddos · adecuadoss · adecuadso · adecuaods

Frequency comparison

adecuado#3,297
adecuados#9,066

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "adecuado" and "adecuados" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "adecuado" is an adjective and "adecuados" a participle, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "adecuado" or "adecuados"?
"adecuado" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,297 in our Spanish list, against #9,066 for "adecuados". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering adecuado vs adecuados

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need an adjective, it's “adecuado”; for a participle, it's “adecuados”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “adecuado” 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