coladovscortadoWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#25,945
“colado” frequency rank
#8,360
“cortado” frequency rank
34305
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature colado cortado
Definition Sustancia pasada a través de un colador. Se dice de la persona de carácter tímido y retraído.

Where the spellings diverge

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

6 ch
colado
7 ch
cortado

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. colado ([koˈlað̞o]) and cortado ([koɾˈt̪að̞o]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 34305, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

colado is recorded at frequency rank #25,945, classified as anadj, pronounced [koˈlað̞o]. cortado is at rank #8,360, tagged as anadj, pronounced [koɾˈt̪að̞o].

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 34305, this pair ranks #192,192 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of colado vs cortado

Shared letters: acdo. Private to "colado": l. Private to "cortado": rt.

"colado" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV  ·  "cortado" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • coladoccolado · cloado · coaldo · coladdo · colaod · coldao · oclado
  • cortadoccortado · coratdo · corrtado · cortaddo · cortaod · cortdao · corttado · cotrado

Frequency comparison

colado#25,945
cortado#8,360

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "colado" and "cortado" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([koˈlað̞o] versus [koɾˈt̪að̞o]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "colado" or "cortado"?
"cortado" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #8,360 in our Spanish list, against #25,945 for "colado". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering colado vs cortado

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 “colado” 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