Which to use
“arrestada” is a participle and “arrestan” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #24,736
- “arrestada” frequency rank
- #29,491
- “arrestan” frequency rank
- 54227
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | arrestada | arrestan |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Forma del femenino de arrestado, participio de arrestar o de arrestarse. | Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de arrestar o de arrestarse. |
Where the eye mixes arrestada and arrestan
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. arrestada runs 9 letters (VCCVCCVCV) against arrestan's 8 (VCCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses arrestada with arrestan
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: arrestada is [aresˈt̪að̞a] while arrestan is [aˈrest̪ãn]. 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 (participle vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 54227, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
arrestada is recorded at frequency rank #24,736, classified as aparticiple, pronounced [aresˈt̪að̞a]. arrestan is at rank #29,491, tagged as averb, pronounced [aˈrest̪ãn].
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 54227, this pair ranks #84,257 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of arrestada vs arrestan
Shared letters: aerst. Private to "arrestada": d. Private to "arrestan": n.
"arrestada" · 9 letters · shape VCCVCCVCV · "arrestan" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "arrestada" for "arrestan" ever safe?
Which is more common, "arrestada" or "arrestan"?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "arrestada" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "arrestan" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #84,257 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "arrestada" and "arrestan" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "arresta vs arrestan". 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 #84,257 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.