cargadovscursadoWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“cargado” and “cursado” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#7,265
“cargado” frequency rank
#32,599
“cursado” frequency rank
39864
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature cargado cursado
Definition Participio de cargar. Participio de cursar.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set cargado and cursado apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

7 ch
cargado
7 ch
cursado

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. cargado ([kaɾˈɣ̞að̞o]) and cursado ([kuɾˈsað̞o]) 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 39864, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

cargado is recorded at frequency rank #7,265, classified as averb, pronounced [kaɾˈɣ̞að̞o]. cursado is at rank #32,599, tagged as averb, pronounced [kuɾˈsað̞o].

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 39864, this pair ranks #162,257 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of cargado vs cursado

Shared letters: acdor. Private to "cargado": g. Private to "cursado": su.

"cargado" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCV  ·  "cursado" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • cargadoacrgado · cagrado · caragdo · cargaddo · cargaod · cargdao · carggado · carrgado
  • cursadoccursado · crusado · curasdo · currsado · cursaddo · cursaod · cursdao · curssado

Frequency comparison

cargado#7,265
cursado#32,599

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "cargado" and "cursado" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([kaɾˈɣ̞að̞o] versus [kuɾˈsað̞o]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "cargado" or "cursado"?
"cargado" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #7,265 in our Spanish list, against #32,599 for "cursado". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering cargado vs cursado

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “cargado” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list