alcanzadovsalcanzasWhich spelling fits?

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

Which to use

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

#4,967
“alcanzado” frequency rank
#48,186
“alcanzas” frequency rank
53153
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature alcanzado alcanzas
Definition Que tiene muchas deudas y/o insuficiente dinero. Segunda persona del singular (tú) del presente de indicativo de alcanzar o de alcanzarse.

Where the eye mixes alcanzado and alcanzas

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. alcanzado 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
alcanzado
8 ch
alcanzas

Visual trap between alcanzado and alcanzas

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: alcanzado is [alkãnˈsað̞o] 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 53153, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

alcanzado is recorded at frequency rank #4,967, classified as anadj, pronounced [alkãnˈsað̞o]. 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 53153, this pair ranks #89,269 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of alcanzado vs alcanzas

Shared letters: aclnz. Private to "alcanzado": do. Private to "alcanzas": s.

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

Known mistypes of this pair

  • alcanzadoaclanzado · alacnzado · alcanazdo · alcannzado · alcanzaddo · alcanzaod · alcanzdao · alcanzzado
  • alcanzasaclanzas · alacnzas · alcanazs · alcannzas · alcanzass · alcanzsa · alcanzzas · alcaznas

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "alcanzado" for "alcanzas" ever safe?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "alcanzado" is an adjective and "alcanzas" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "alcanzado" or "alcanzas"?
"alcanzado" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #4,967 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.

After this comparison

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "alcanzado" 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 #89,269 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "alcanzado" 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 #89,269 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