baratovsbatataTell them apart

Quick tell: barato is a adjective, batata is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“barato” is an adjective and “batata” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#4,217
“barato” frequency rank
#36,426
“batata” frequency rank
40643
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature barato batata
Definition Dicho de algo que se compra o vende a bajo precio. (Ipomoea batatas) Planta herbácea de la familia de las convolvuláceas, de origen latinoamericano y extensamente cultivada por su raíz tuberosa, empleada en gastronomía. Es una enredadera perenne, de hojas cordiformes o palmatilobuladas, alternas, pecioladas, y flores simpétalas, pentámeras, de buen tamaño y muy atractivas. La raíz es larga y fusiforme, con la piel pardorrojiza a púrpura, y pulpa similarmente variable. Cultivada en América desde la época precolombina, llegó a Europa en el siglo XVI y se ha difundido ampliamente en todo el mundo.

Where the eye mixes barato and batata

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. barato and batata follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCVCV). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.

6 ch
barato
6 ch
batata

Visual trap between barato and batata

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: barato is [baˈɾat̪o] while batata is [baˈt̪at̪a]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 40643, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

barato is recorded at frequency rank #4,217, classified as anadj, pronounced [baˈɾat̪o]. batata is at rank #36,426, tagged as anoun, pronounced [baˈt̪at̪a].

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 40643, this pair ranks #157,984 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of barato vs batata

Shared letters: abt. Private to "barato": or. Private to "batata": -.

"barato" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV  ·  "batata" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • barato ← abrato · baarto · baraot · baratto · barrato · bartao · bbarato · braato
  • batata ← abtata · baatta · bataat · batatta · battaa · battata · bbatata · btaata

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "barato" and "batata" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "barato" is an adjective and "batata" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "barato" or "batata"?
"barato" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #4,217 in our Spanish list, against #36,426 for "batata". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Eye-level mix-up between "barato" and "batata" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "barato" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "batata" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #157,984 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "barato" and "batata" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "bajate vs batata". 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 #157,984 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list