dedicadovsdelicadoWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: dedicado is a verb, delicado is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“dedicado” is a verb and “delicado” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#2,651
“dedicado” frequency rank
#8,101
“delicado” frequency rank
10752
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature dedicado delicado
Definition Participio de dedicar o de dedicarse. Suave, blando, tierno.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set dedicado and delicado apart are highlighted. They share 7 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

8 ch
dedicado
8 ch
delicado

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: dedicado is [d̪eð̞iˈkað̞o] while delicado is [d̪eliˈkað̞o]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - d in “dedicado” becomes l in “delicado”, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 10752, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

dedicado is recorded at frequency rank #2,651, classified as averb, pronounced [d̪eð̞iˈkað̞o]. delicado is at rank #8,101, tagged as anadj, pronounced [d̪eliˈkað̞o].

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 10752, this pair ranks #297,496 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of dedicado vs delicado

Shared letters: acdeio. Private to "dedicado": -. Private to "delicado": l.

"dedicado" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCVCV  ·  "delicado" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • dedicadoddedicado · ddeicado · dedciado · deddicado · dediacdo · dedicaddo · dedicaod · dediccado
  • delicadoddelicado · deilcado · delciado · deliacdo · delicaddo · delicaod · deliccado · delicdao

Frequency comparison

dedicado#2,651
delicado#8,101

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "dedicado" and "delicado" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "dedicado" is a verb and "delicado" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "dedicado" or "delicado"?
"dedicado" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,651 in our Spanish list, against #8,101 for "delicado". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering dedicado vs delicado

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

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