Which to use
“cuidad” is a verb and “cuidada” is a participle - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #21,625
- “cuidad” frequency rank
- #30,009
- “cuidada” frequency rank
- 51634
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | cuidad | cuidada |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Segunda persona del plural (vosotros, vosotras) del imperativo afirmativo de cuidar. | Forma del femenino de cuidado, participio de cuidar o de cuidarse. |
Where the eye mixes cuidad and cuidada
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses cuidad with cuidada
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: cuidad is [kwiˈð̞að̞] while cuidada is [kwiˈð̞að̞a]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “cuidad” sits inside “cuidada”, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs participle), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 51634, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
cuidad is recorded at frequency rank #21,625, classified as averb, pronounced [kwiˈð̞að̞]. cuidada is at rank #30,009, tagged as aparticiple, pronounced [kwiˈð̞að̞a].
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 51634, this pair ranks #96,926 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of cuidad vs cuidada
Shared letters: acdiu. Private to "cuidad": -. Private to "cuidada": -.
"cuidad" · 6 letters · shape CVVCVC · "cuidada" · 7 letters · shape CVVCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "cuidad" for "cuidada" ever safe?
Which is more common, "cuidad" or "cuidada"?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "cuidad" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "cuidada" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #96,926 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "cuidad" and "cuidada" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "cuajada vs cuidada". 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 #96,926 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.