criadasvscriadoWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: criadas is a participle, criado is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“criadas” is a participle and “criado” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#30,840
“criadas” frequency rank
#9,433
“criado” frequency rank
40273
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature criadas criado
Definition Forma del femenino plural de criado, participio de criar o de criarse. Persona que sirve a otra, o a una familia, como medio de subsistencia. Por lo general se trata de gente humilde, sin estudios, que realiza labores domésticas.

Where the spellings diverge

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

7 ch
criadas
6 ch
criado

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: criadas is [ˈkɾjað̞as] while criado is [ˈkɾjað̞o]. 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 40273, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

criadas is recorded at frequency rank #30,840, classified as aparticiple, pronounced [ˈkɾjað̞as]. criado is at rank #9,433, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈkɾjað̞o].

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 40273, this pair ranks #160,002 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of criadas vs criado

Shared letters: acdir. Private to "criadas": s. Private to "criado": o.

"criadas" · 7 letters · shape CCVVCVC  ·  "criado" · 6 letters · shape CCVVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • criadasccriadas · ciradas · craidas · criaads · criadass · criaddas · criadsa · cridaas
  • criadoccriado · cirado · craido · criaddo · criaod · cridao · crriado · rciado

Frequency comparison

criadas#30,840
criado#9,433

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "criadas" and "criado" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "criadas" is a participle and "criado" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "criadas" or "criado"?
"criado" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #9,433 in our Spanish list, against #30,840 for "criadas". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering criadas vs criado

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

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