criadosvscriandoWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: criados is a participle, criando is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“criados” is a participle and “criando” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#17,655
“criados” frequency rank
#34,035
“criando” frequency rank
51690
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature criados criando
Definition Forma del plural de criado, participio de criar o de criarse. Gerundio de criar.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set criados and criando apart are highlighted. They share 6 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

7 ch
criados
7 ch
criando

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: criados is [ˈkɾjað̞os] while criando is [ˈkɾjãn̪d̪o]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 3 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (participle vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 51690, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

criados is recorded at frequency rank #17,655, classified as aparticiple, pronounced [ˈkɾjað̞os]. criando is at rank #34,035, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈkɾjãn̪d̪o].

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 51690, this pair ranks #96,578 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of criados vs criando

Shared letters: acdior. Private to "criados": s. Private to "criando": n.

"criados" · 7 letters · shape CCVVCVC  ·  "criando" · 7 letters · shape CCVVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • criadosccriados · cirados · craidos · criaddos · criadoss · criadso · criaods · cridaos
  • criandoccriando · cirando · craindo · criadno · crianddo · crianndo · crianod · crinado

Frequency comparison

criados#17,655
criando#34,035

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "criados" and "criando" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "criados" is a participle and "criando" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "criados" or "criando"?
"criados" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #17,655 in our Spanish list, against #34,035 for "criando". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering criados vs criando

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

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