aludvsataúdWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#37,942
“alud” frequency rank
#16,269
“ataúd” frequency rank
54211
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature alud ataúd
Definition Derrumbe de las nieves de los montes a los valles en gran cantidad y con estrépito. Caja donde se mete el cadáver para llevarlo a enterrar.

Where the eye mixes alud and ataúd

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence. alud runs 4 letters (VCVC) against ataúd's 5 (VCVVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

4 ch
alud
5 ch
ataúd

Visual trap between alud and ataúd

A purely visual mix-up. alud ([aˈluð̞]) and ataúd ([at̪aˈuð̞]) 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 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 54211, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

alud is recorded at frequency rank #37,942, classified as anoun, pronounced [aˈluð̞]. ataúd is at rank #16,269, tagged as anoun, pronounced [at̪aˈuð̞].

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 54211, this pair ranks #84,327 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of alud vs ataúd

Shared letters: ad. Private to "alud": lu. Private to "ataúd": tú.

"alud" · 4 letters · shape VCVC  ·  "ataúd" · 5 letters · shape VCVVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • alud ← aldu · allud · aludd · auld · laud

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "alud" for "ataúd" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([aˈluð̞] versus [at̪aˈuð̞]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "alud" or "ataúd"?
"ataúd" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #16,269 in our Spanish list, against #37,942 for "alud". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "alud" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "ataúd" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #84,327 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "alud" and "ataúd" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "alió vs alud". 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 #84,327 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