alcanzadavsalcanzasWhich spelling fits?

Quick tell: alcanzada is a adjective, alcanzas is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“alcanzada” is an adjective and “alcanzas” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#24,368
“alcanzada” frequency rank
#48,186
“alcanzas” frequency rank
72554
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature alcanzada alcanzas
Definition Forma del femenino de alcanzado. Segunda persona del singular (tú) del presente de indicativo de alcanzar o de alcanzarse.

Where the eye mixes alcanzada and alcanzas

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. alcanzada runs 9 letters (VCCVCCVCV) against alcanzas's 8 (VCCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

9 ch
alcanzada
8 ch
alcanzas

Visual trap between alcanzada and alcanzas

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: alcanzada is [alkãnˈsað̞a] while alcanzas is [alˈkãnsas]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 72554, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

alcanzada is recorded at frequency rank #24,368, classified as anadj, pronounced [alkãnˈsað̞a]. alcanzas is at rank #48,186, tagged as averb, pronounced [alˈkãnsas].

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 72554, this pair ranks #25,122 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of alcanzada vs alcanzas

Shared letters: aclnz. Private to "alcanzada": d. Private to "alcanzas": s.

"alcanzada" · 9 letters · shape VCCVCCVCV  ·  "alcanzas" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • alcanzadaaclanzada · alacnzada · alcanazda · alcannzada · alcanzaad · alcanzadda · alcanzdaa · alcanzzada
  • alcanzasaclanzas · alacnzas · alcanazs · alcannzas · alcanzass · alcanzsa · alcanzzas · alcaznas

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "alcanzada" for "alcanzas" ever safe?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "alcanzada" is an adjective and "alcanzas" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
In ordinary Spanish text, does "alcanzada" or "alcanzas" show up more?
"alcanzada" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #24,368 in our Spanish list, against #48,186 for "alcanzas". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "alcanzada" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "alcanzas" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #25,122 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "alcanzada" and "alcanzas" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "alcanzadas vs alcanzas". 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 #25,122 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