bajadasvsbaladaWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: bajadas is a participle, balada is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“bajadas” is a participle and “balada” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#33,953
“bajadas” frequency rank
#27,103
“balada” frequency rank
61056
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature bajadas balada
Definition Forma del femenino plural de bajado, participio de bajar. Canción lenta generalmente romántica.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set bajadas and balada apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

7 ch
bajadas
6 ch
balada

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: bajadas is [baˈxað̞as] while balada is [baˈlað̞a]. 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 noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 61056, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

bajadas is recorded at frequency rank #33,953, classified as aparticiple, pronounced [baˈxað̞as]. balada is at rank #27,103, tagged as anoun, pronounced [baˈlað̞a].

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 61056, this pair ranks #56,778 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of bajadas vs balada

Shared letters: abd. Private to "bajadas": js. Private to "balada": l.

"bajadas" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC  ·  "balada" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • bajadasabjadas · baajdas · bajaads · bajadass · bajaddas · bajadsa · bajdaas · bajjadas
  • baladaablada · baalda · balaad · baladda · baldaa · ballada · bbalada · blaada

Frequency comparison

bajadas#33,953
balada#27,103

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "bajadas" and "balada" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "bajadas" is a participle and "balada" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "bajadas" or "balada"?
"balada" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #27,103 in our Spanish list, against #33,953 for "bajadas". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering bajadas vs balada

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

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