atacavsatacadoWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#6,617
“ataca” frequency rank
#7,666
“atacado” frequency rank
14283
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature ataca atacado
Definition Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de atacar. Participio de atacar.

Where the eye mixes ataca and atacado

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. ataca runs 5 letters (VCVCV) against atacado's 7 (VCVCVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

5 ch
ataca
7 ch
atacado

Visual trap between ataca and atacado

A purely visual mix-up. ataca ([aˈt̪aka]) and atacado ([at̪aˈkað̞o]) 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) - “ataca” sits inside “atacado”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 14283, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

ataca is recorded at frequency rank #6,617, classified as averb, pronounced [aˈt̪aka]. atacado is at rank #7,666, tagged as averb, pronounced [at̪aˈkað̞o].

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 14283, this pair ranks #284,726 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of ataca vs atacado

Shared letters: act. Private to "ataca": -. Private to "atacado": do.

"ataca" · 5 letters · shape VCVCV  ·  "atacado" · 7 letters · shape VCVCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • ataca ← aatca · ataac · atacca · atcaa · attaca · taaca
  • atacado ← aatcado · ataacdo · atacaddo · atacaod · ataccado · atacdao · atcaado · attacado

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "ataca" for "atacado" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([aˈt̪aka] versus [at̪aˈkað̞o]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "ataca" or "atacado"?
"ataca" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #6,617 in our Spanish list, against #7,666 for "atacado". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Eye-level mix-up between "ataca" and "atacado" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "ataca" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "atacado" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #284,726 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "ataca" and "atacado" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "atacado vs atascados". 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 #284,726 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