Which to use
“colador” and “colmado” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #39,644
- “colador” frequency rank
- #39,645
- “colmado” frequency rank
- 79289
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | colador | colmado |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Utensilio de cocina que dispone de unos agujeros a modo de criba o filtro de alimentos con el objeto de escurrir y separar al alimento sólido de su caldo. | Tienda dedicada al expendio por menor de provisiones y vituallas, en general no perecederas. |
Where the eye mixes colador and colmado
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. colador (CVCVCVC) and colmado (CVCCVCV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Why the eye confuses colador with colmado
A purely visual mix-up. colador ([kolaˈð̞oɾ]) and colmado ([kolˈmað̞o]) 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 4 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 79289, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
colador is recorded at frequency rank #39,644, classified as anoun, pronounced [kolaˈð̞oɾ]. colmado is at rank #39,645, tagged as anoun, pronounced [kolˈmað̞o].
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 79289, this pair ranks #13,218 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of colador vs colmado
Shared letters: acdlo. Private to "colador": r. Private to "colmado": m.
"colador" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC · "colmado" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "colador" and "colmado" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "colador" vs "colmado" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "colador" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "colmado" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #13,218 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "colador" and "colmado" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "colador vs cortador". 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 #13,218 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.