delegadovsdeseadoWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: delegado is a adjective, deseado is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

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

#7,290
“delegado” frequency rank
#8,103
“deseado” frequency rank
15393
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature delegado deseado
Definition Aquel sobre el que se delega un cargo o una responsabilidad. Participio de desear.

Where the spellings diverge

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

8 ch
delegado
7 ch
deseado

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: delegado is [d̪eleˈɣ̞að̞o] while deseado is [d̪eseˈað̞o]. 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 (adjective vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 15393, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

delegado is recorded at frequency rank #7,290, classified as anadj, pronounced [d̪eleˈɣ̞að̞o]. deseado is at rank #8,103, tagged as averb, pronounced [d̪eseˈað̞o].

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 15393, this pair ranks #280,348 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of delegado vs deseado

Shared letters: adeo. Private to "delegado": gl. Private to "deseado": s.

"delegado" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCVCV  ·  "deseado" · 7 letters · shape CVCVVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • delegadoddelegado · deelgado · deleagdo · delegaddo · delegaod · delegdao · deleggado · delgeado
  • deseadoddeseado · deceado · deesado · desaedo · deseaddo · deseaod · desedao · desseado

Frequency comparison

delegado#7,290
deseado#8,103

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "delegado" and "deseado" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "delegado" is an adjective and "deseado" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "delegado" or "deseado"?
"delegado" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #7,290 in our Spanish list, against #8,103 for "deseado". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering delegado vs deseado

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

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