Which to use
“cancela” is a noun and “cancelada” is a participle - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #16,779
- “cancela” frequency rank
- #22,292
- “cancelada” frequency rank
- 39071
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | cancela | cancelada |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Verjilla que se pone en el umbral de algunas casas para reservar el portal o zaguán del libre acceso del público. | Forma del femenino de cancelado, participio de cancelar. |
Where the eye mixes cancela and cancelada
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. cancela runs 7 letters (CVCCVCV) against cancelada's 9 (CVCCVCVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses cancela with cancelada
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: cancela is [kãnˈsela] while cancelada is [kãnseˈlað̞a]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “cancela” sits inside “cancelada”, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs participle), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 39071, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
cancela is recorded at frequency rank #16,779, classified as anoun, pronounced [kãnˈsela]. cancelada is at rank #22,292, tagged as aparticiple, pronounced [kãnseˈlað̞a].
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 39071, this pair ranks #166,542 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of cancela vs cancelada
Shared letters: aceln. Private to "cancela": -. Private to "cancelada": d.
"cancela" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCV · "cancelada" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "cancela" for "cancelada" ever safe?
In ordinary Spanish text, does "cancela" or "cancelada" show up more?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "cancela" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "cancelada" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #166,542 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "cancela" and "cancelada" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "cancelada vs cancelando". 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 #166,542 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.