Which to use
“arado” is a noun and “arduo” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #32,080
- “arado” frequency rank
- #21,901
- “arduo” frequency rank
- 53981
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | arado | arduo |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Instrumento agrícola formado básicamente por una pieza afilada o reja y una pieza que permite su tracción por animales o máquinas. Se emplea para abrir surcos en la tierra. | Muy complicado. |
Where the eye mixes arado and arduo
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between arado and arduo
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: arado is [aˈɾað̞o] while arduo is [ˈaɾð̞wo]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 53981, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
arado is recorded at frequency rank #32,080, classified as anoun, pronounced [aˈɾað̞o]. arduo is at rank #21,901, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈaɾð̞wo].
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 53981, this pair ranks #85,353 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of arado vs arduo
Shared letters: ador. Private to "arado": -. Private to "arduo": u.
"arado" · 5 letters · shape VCVCV · "arduo" · 5 letters · shape VCCVV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "arado" for "arduo" ever safe?
Frequency check: "arado" vs "arduo" - which ranks higher?
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 "arado" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "arduo" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #85,353 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "arado" and "arduo" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "añadí vs arado". 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 #85,353 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.