criticadavscríticasWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

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

#22,314
“criticada” frequency rank
#2,443
“críticas” frequency rank
24757
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature criticada críticas
Definition Forma del femenino de criticado, participio de criticar. Forma del femenino plural de crítico.

Where the spellings diverge

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

9 ch
criticada
8 ch
críticas

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: criticada is [kɾit̪iˈkað̞a] while críticas is [ˈkɾit̪ikas]. 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 adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 24757, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

criticada is recorded at frequency rank #22,314, classified as aparticiple, pronounced [kɾit̪iˈkað̞a]. críticas is at rank #2,443, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈkɾit̪ikas].

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 24757, this pair ranks #239,651 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of criticada vs críticas

Shared letters: acirt. Private to "criticada": d. Private to "críticas": .

"criticada" · 9 letters · shape CCVCVCVCV  ·  "críticas" · 8 letters · shape CCVCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • criticadaccriticada · cirticada · criitcada · critciada · critiacda · criticaad · criticadda · criticcada

Frequency comparison

criticada#22,314
críticas#2,443

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "criticada" and "críticas" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "criticada" is a participle and "críticas" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "criticada" or "críticas"?
"críticas" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,443 in our Spanish list, against #22,314 for "criticada". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering criticada vs críticas

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a participle, it's “criticada”; for an adjective, it's “críticas”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “criticada” 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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list