Which to use
“autorizaba” is a verb and “autorizada” is a participle - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #48,233
- “autorizaba” frequency rank
- #10,103
- “autorizada” frequency rank
- 58336
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | autorizaba | autorizada |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Primera persona del singular (yo) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de autorizar. | Forma del femenino de autorizado, participio de autorizar. |
Where the eye mixes autorizaba and autorizada
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 9 letters in sequence. autorizaba and autorizada follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (VVCVCVCVCV). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Why the eye confuses autorizaba with autorizada
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: autorizaba is [awt̪oɾiˈsaβ̞a] while autorizada is [awt̪oɾiˈsað̞a]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - b in “autorizaba” becomes d in “autorizada”, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs participle), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 58336, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
autorizaba is recorded at frequency rank #48,233, classified as averb, pronounced [awt̪oɾiˈsaβ̞a]. autorizada is at rank #10,103, tagged as aparticiple, pronounced [awt̪oɾiˈsað̞a].
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 58336, this pair ranks #66,834 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of autorizaba vs autorizada
Shared letters: aiortuz. Private to "autorizaba": b. Private to "autorizada": d.
"autorizaba" · 10 letters · shape VVCVCVCVCV · "autorizada" · 10 letters · shape VVCVCVCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- autorizaba ← atuorizaba · auotrizaba · autoirzaba · autoriazba · autorizaab · autorizabba · autorizava · autorizbaa
- autorizada ← atuorizada · auotrizada · autoirzada · autoriazda · autorizaad · autorizadda · autorizdaa · autorizzada
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "autorizaba" for "autorizada" ever safe?
In ordinary Spanish text, does "autorizaba" or "autorizada" show up more?
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 "autorizaba" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "autorizada" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #66,834 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "autorizaba" and "autorizada" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "autorizaba vs autorizan". 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 #66,834 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.