Which to use
“atascado” is a verb and “atrasado” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #33,431
- “atascado” frequency rank
- #18,447
- “atrasado” frequency rank
- 51878
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | atascado | atrasado |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Participio de atascar o de atascarse. | Que llega después de lo acordado o estipulado. |
Where the eye mixes atascado and atrasado
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. atascado (VCVCCVCV) and atrasado (VCCVCVCV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Why the eye confuses atascado with atrasado
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: atascado is [at̪asˈkað̞o] while atrasado is [at̪ɾaˈsað̞o]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 3 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 51878, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
atascado is recorded at frequency rank #33,431, classified as averb, pronounced [at̪asˈkað̞o]. atrasado is at rank #18,447, tagged as anadj, pronounced [at̪ɾaˈsað̞o].
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 51878, this pair ranks #95,554 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of atascado vs atrasado
Shared letters: adost. Private to "atascado": c. Private to "atrasado": r.
"atascado" · 8 letters · shape VCVCCVCV · "atrasado" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "atascado" for "atrasado" ever safe?
Which is more common, "atascado" or "atrasado"?
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 "atascado" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "atrasado" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #95,554 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "atascado" and "atrasado" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "atascado 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 #95,554 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.