calladovscallateTell them apart

Quick tell: callado is a adjective, callate is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“callado” is an adjective and “callate” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#8,227
“callado” frequency rank
#16,519
“callate” frequency rank
24746
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature callado callate
Definition Que no habla mucho. Segunda persona del singular (vos) del imperativo afirmativo de callarse (con el pronombre enclítico).

Where the eye mixes callado and callate

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.

7 ch
callado
7 ch
callate

Look-alike desk: callado vs callate

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: callado is [kaˈʝað̞o] while callate is [kaˈʝat̪e]. 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 verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 24746, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

callado is recorded at frequency rank #8,227, classified as anadj, pronounced [kaˈʝað̞o]. callate is at rank #16,519, tagged as averb, pronounced [kaˈʝat̪e].

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 24746, this pair ranks #239,694 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of callado vs callate

Shared letters: acl. Private to "callado": do. Private to "callate": et.

"callado" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCV  ·  "callate" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • calladoacllado · calaldo · calladdo · callaod · calldao · ccallado · clalado
  • callateacllate · calalte · calate · callaet · callatte · calltae · ccallate · clalate

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "callado" for "callate" ever safe?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "callado" is an adjective and "callate" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "callado" or "callate"?
"callado" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #8,227 in our Spanish list, against #16,519 for "callate". 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 "callado" and "callate" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "callado" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "callate" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #239,694 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "callado" and "callate" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "callate vs cállese". 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 #239,694 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