alteradosvsaterradosTell them apart

Which to use

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

#29,023
“alterados” frequency rank
#49,442
“aterrados” frequency rank
78465
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature alterados aterrados
Definition Forma del plural de alterado, participio de alterar. Forma del plural de aterrado, participio de aterrar.

Where the eye mixes alterados and aterrados

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. alterados (VCCVCVCVC) and aterrados (VCVCCVCVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.

9 ch
alterados
9 ch
aterrados

Visual trap between alterados and aterrados

A purely visual mix-up. alterados ([al̪t̪eˈɾað̞os]) and aterrados ([at̪eˈrað̞os]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 3 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 78465, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

alterados is recorded at frequency rank #29,023, classified as aparticiple, pronounced [al̪t̪eˈɾað̞os]. aterrados is at rank #49,442, tagged as aparticiple, pronounced [at̪eˈrað̞os].

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 78465, this pair ranks #14,411 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of alterados vs aterrados

Shared letters: adeorst. Private to "alterados": l. Private to "aterrados": -.

"alterados" · 9 letters · shape VCCVCVCVC  ·  "aterrados" · 9 letters · shape VCVCCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • alteradosaletrados · allterados · alteardos · alteraddos · alteradoss · alteradso · alteraods · alterdaos
  • aterradosaetrrados · aterados · aterardos · aterraddos · aterradoss · aterradso · aterraods · aterrdaos

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "alterados" for "aterrados" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([al̪t̪eˈɾað̞os] versus [at̪eˈrað̞os]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "alterados" or "aterrados"?
"alterados" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #29,023 in our Spanish list, against #49,442 for "aterrados". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "alterados" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "aterrados" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #14,411 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "alterados" and "aterrados" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "aterradores vs aterrados". 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 #14,411 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