Which to use
“candados” is a participle and “cuñados” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #36,447
- “candados” frequency rank
- #45,242
- “cuñados” frequency rank
- 81689
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | candados | cuñados |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Forma del plural de candado, participio de candar o de candarse. | Forma del plural de cuñado. |
Where the eye mixes candados and cuñados
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. candados runs 8 letters (CVCCVCVC) against cuñados's 7 (CVCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between candados and cuñados
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: candados is [kãn̪ˈd̪að̞os] while cuñados is [kuˈɲað̞os]. 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 81689, 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]. cuñados is at rank #45,242, tagged as anoun, pronounced [kuˈɲað̞os].
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 81689, this pair ranks #10,113 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of candados vs cuñados
Shared letters: acdos. Private to "candados": n. Private to "cuñados": uñ.
"candados" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCVC · "cuñados" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- candados ← acndados · cadnados · canaddos · candaddos · candadoss · candadso · candaods · canddados
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "candados" and "cuñados" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "candados" vs "cuñados" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
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 "cuñados" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #10,113 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "candados" and "cuñados" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "cenado vs cuñados". 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 #10,113 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.