autorizadavsautorizanWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

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

#10,103
“autorizada” frequency rank
#42,282
“autorizan” frequency rank
52385
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature autorizada autorizan
Definition Forma del femenino de autorizado, participio de autorizar. Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de autorizar.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set autorizada and autorizan apart are highlighted. They share 8 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

10 ch
autorizada
9 ch
autorizan

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

autorizada and autorizan form a confusable pair in the Spanish index, two distinct headwords that are easily confused because they look alike, sound alike, or both. They differ by 1 letter(s) in length - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 52385, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

autorizada is recorded at frequency rank #10,103, classified as aparticiple, pronounced [awt̪oɾiˈsað̞a]. autorizan is at rank #42,282, tagged as averb, pronounced [awt̪oˈɾisãn].

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 52385, this pair ranks #92,970 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Frequency comparison

autorizada#10,103
autorizan#42,282

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "autorizada" and "autorizan" be used interchangeably?
No, "autorizada" and "autorizan" have distinct meanings and cannot be swapped without changing the meaning of a sentence. Understanding the specific definition and context for each word is essential for correct usage.

Remembering autorizada vs autorizan

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a participle, it's “autorizada”; for a verb, it's “autorizan”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “autorizada” 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