controvertidavscontrovertidoWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: controvertida is a participle, controvertido is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“controvertida” is a participle and “controvertido” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#24,808
“controvertida” frequency rank
#21,278
“controvertido” frequency rank
46086
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature controvertida controvertido
Definition Forma del femenino de controvertido, participio de controvertir. Dicho de un asunto: que siempre es motivo de debate y que da lugar a posturas contrapuestas.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set controvertida and controvertido apart are highlighted. They share 12 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

13 ch
controvertida
13 ch
controvertido

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: controvertida is [kõn̪t̪ɾoβ̞eɾˈt̪ið̞a] while controvertido is [kõn̪t̪ɾoβ̞eɾˈt̪ið̞o]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - a in “controvertida” becomes o in “controvertido”, and the parts of speech differ too (participle vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 46086, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

controvertida is recorded at frequency rank #24,808, classified as aparticiple, pronounced [kõn̪t̪ɾoβ̞eɾˈt̪ið̞a]. controvertido is at rank #21,278, tagged as anadj, pronounced [kõn̪t̪ɾoβ̞eɾˈt̪ið̞o].

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 46086, this pair ranks #127,758 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of controvertida vs controvertido

Shared letters: cdeinortv. Private to "controvertida": a. Private to "controvertido": -.

"controvertida" · 13 letters · shape CVCCCVCVCCVCV  ·  "controvertido" · 13 letters · shape CVCCCVCVCCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • controvertidaccontrovertida · cnotrovertida · conntrovertida · conrtovertida · contorvertida · controbertida · controevrtida · controveritda
  • controvertidoccontrovertido · cnotrovertido · conntrovertido · conrtovertido · contorvertido · controbertido · controevrtido · controveritdo

Frequency comparison

controvertida#24,808
controvertido#21,278

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "controvertida" and "controvertido" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "controvertida" is a participle and "controvertido" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "controvertida" or "controvertido"?
"controvertido" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #21,278 in our Spanish list, against #24,808 for "controvertida". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering controvertida vs controvertido

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a participle, it's “controvertida”; for an adjective, it's “controvertido”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “controvertida” 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