Which to use
“delgada” and “delicada” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #9,621
- “delgada” frequency rank
- #10,310
- “delicada” frequency rank
- 19931
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | delgada | delicada |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Forma del femenino de delgado. | Forma del femenino singular de delicado. |
Where the eye mixes delgada and delicada
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. delgada runs 7 letters (CVCCVCV) against delicada's 8 (CVCVCVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between delgada and delicada
A purely visual mix-up. delgada ([d̪elˈɣ̞að̞a]) and delicada ([d̪eliˈkað̞a]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 19931, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
delgada is recorded at frequency rank #9,621, classified as anadj, pronounced [d̪elˈɣ̞að̞a]. delicada is at rank #10,310, tagged as anadj, pronounced [d̪eliˈkað̞a].
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 19931, this pair ranks #261,572 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of delgada vs delicada
Shared letters: adel. Private to "delgada": g. Private to "delicada": ci.
"delgada" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCV · "delicada" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "delgada" for "delicada" ever safe?
Which is more common, "delgada" or "delicada"?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "delgada" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "delicada" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #261,572 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "delgada" and "delicada" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "dedicará vs delicada". 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 #261,572 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.