Which to use
“candados” and “captados” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #36,447
- “candados” frequency rank
- #44,610
- “captados” frequency rank
- 81057
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | candados | captados |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Forma del plural de candado, participio de candar o de candarse. | Forma del plural de captado, participio de captar. |
Where the eye mixes candados and captados
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. candados and captados follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCCVCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Why the eye confuses candados with captados
A purely visual mix-up. candados ([kãn̪ˈd̪að̞os]) and captados ([kapˈt̪að̞os]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 81057, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
candados is recorded at frequency rank #36,447, classified as aparticiple, pronounced [kãn̪ˈd̪að̞os]. captados is at rank #44,610, tagged as aparticiple, pronounced [kapˈt̪að̞os].
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 81057, this pair ranks #10,873 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of candados vs captados
Shared letters: acdos. Private to "candados": n. Private to "captados": pt.
"candados" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCVC · "captados" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "candados" for "captados" ever safe?
Frequency check: "candados" vs "captados" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "candados" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "captados" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #10,873 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "candados" and "captados" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "cántaros vs captados". 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 #10,873 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.