delgadavsdeseadaWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

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

#9,621
“delgada” frequency rank
#16,314
“deseada” frequency rank
25935
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature delgada deseada
Definition Forma del femenino de delgado. Forma del femenino de deseado, participio de desear.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set delgada and deseada apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

7 ch
delgada
7 ch
deseada

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: delgada is [d̪elˈɣ̞að̞a] while deseada is [d̪eseˈað̞a]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 25935, 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]. deseada is at rank #16,314, tagged as averb, pronounced [d̪eseˈað̞a].

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 25935, this pair ranks #234,110 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of delgada vs deseada

Shared letters: ade. Private to "delgada": gl. Private to "deseada": s.

"delgada" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCV  ·  "deseada" · 7 letters · shape CVCVVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • delgadaddelgada · deglada · delagda · delgaad · delgadda · delgdaa · delggada · dellgada
  • deseadaddeseada · deceada · deesada · desaeda · deseaad · deseadda · desedaa · desseada

Frequency comparison

delgada#9,621
deseada#16,314

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "delgada" and "deseada" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "delgada" is an adjective and "deseada" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "delgada" or "deseada"?
"delgada" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #9,621 in our Spanish list, against #16,314 for "deseada". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering delgada vs deseada

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

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