atravesadavsatravesandoWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: atravesada is a participle, atravesando is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“atravesada” is a participle and “atravesando” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#40,143
“atravesada” frequency rank
#11,718
“atravesando” frequency rank
51861
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature atravesada atravesando
Definition Forma del femenino de atravesado, participio de atravesar o de atravesarse. Gerundio de atravesar.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set atravesada and atravesando apart are highlighted. They share 9 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

10 ch
atravesada
11 ch
atravesando

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: atravesada is [at̪ɾaβ̞eˈsað̞a] while atravesando is [at̪ɾaβ̞eˈsãn̪d̪o]. 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 51861, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

atravesada is recorded at frequency rank #40,143, classified as aparticiple, pronounced [at̪ɾaβ̞eˈsað̞a]. atravesando is at rank #11,718, tagged as averb, pronounced [at̪ɾaβ̞eˈsãn̪d̪o].

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 51861, this pair ranks #95,653 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of atravesada vs atravesando

Shared letters: aderstv. Private to "atravesada": -. Private to "atravesando": no.

"atravesada" · 10 letters · shape VCCVCVCVCV  ·  "atravesando" · 11 letters · shape VCCVCVCVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • atravesadaartavesada · atarvesada · atrabesada · atraevsada · atraveasda · atravesaad · atravesadda · atravesdaa
  • atravesandoartavesando · atarvesando · atrabesando · atraevsando · atraveasndo · atravesadno · atravesanddo · atravesanndo

Frequency comparison

atravesada#40,143
atravesando#11,718

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "atravesada" and "atravesando" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "atravesada" is a participle and "atravesando" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "atravesada" or "atravesando"?
"atravesando" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #11,718 in our Spanish list, against #40,143 for "atravesada". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering atravesada vs atravesando

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a participle, it's “atravesada”; for a verb, it's “atravesando”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “atravesada” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list