alegavsalegadoWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#18,434
“alega” frequency rank
#37,937
“alegado” frequency rank
56371
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature alega alegado
Definition Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de alegar. Participio de alegar.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set alega and alegado apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
alega
7 ch
alegado

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. alega ([aˈleɣ̞a]) and alegado ([aleˈɣ̞að̞o]) 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 2 extra letter(s) - “alega” sits inside “alegado”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 56371, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

alega is recorded at frequency rank #18,434, classified as averb, pronounced [aˈleɣ̞a]. alegado is at rank #37,937, tagged as averb, pronounced [aleˈɣ̞að̞o].

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 56371, this pair ranks #74,884 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of alega vs alegado

Shared letters: aegl. Private to "alega": -. Private to "alegado": do.

"alega" · 5 letters · shape VCVCV  ·  "alegado" · 7 letters · shape VCVCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • alegaaelga · aleag · alegga · algea · allega · laega
  • alegadoaelgado · aleagdo · alegaddo · alegaod · alegdao · aleggado · algeado · allegado

Frequency comparison

alega#18,434
alegado#37,937

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "alega" and "alegado" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([aˈleɣ̞a] versus [aleˈɣ̞að̞o]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "alega" or "alegado"?
"alega" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #18,434 in our Spanish list, against #37,937 for "alegado". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering alega vs alegado

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “alega” 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