Which to use
“desaparecido” is an adjective and “desaparecidos” is a participle - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #3,624
- “desaparecido” frequency rank
- #5,093
- “desaparecidos” frequency rank
- 8717
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | desaparecido | desaparecidos |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Se dice de las personas de las que no se sabe dónde se encuentran y tampoco si continúan con vida. | Forma del plural de desaparecido, participio de desaparecer o de desaparecerse. |
Where the eye mixes desaparecido and desaparecidos
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 12 letters in sequence. desaparecido runs 12 letters (CVCVCVCVCVCV) against desaparecidos's 13 (CVCVCVCVCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: desaparecido vs desaparecidos
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: desaparecido is [d̪esapaɾeˈsið̞o] while desaparecidos is [d̪esapaɾeˈsið̞os]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “desaparecido” sits inside “desaparecidos”, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs participle), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 8717, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
desaparecido is recorded at frequency rank #3,624, classified as anadj, pronounced [d̪esapaɾeˈsið̞o]. desaparecidos is at rank #5,093, tagged as aparticiple, pronounced [d̪esapaɾeˈsið̞os].
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 8717, this pair ranks #304,170 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of desaparecido vs desaparecidos
Shared letters: acdeioprs. Private to "desaparecido": -. Private to "desaparecidos": -.
"desaparecido" · 12 letters · shape CVCVCVCVCVCV · "desaparecidos" · 13 letters · shape CVCVCVCVCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- desaparecido ← ddesaparecido · deasparecido · desaaprecido · desapaercido · desaparceido · desapareccido · desaparecdio · desapareciddo
- desaparecidos ← ddesaparecidos · deasparecidos · desaaprecidos · desapaercidos · desaparceidos · desapareccidos · desaparecdios · desapareciddos
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "desaparecido" and "desaparecidos" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "desaparecido" or "desaparecidos"?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "desaparecido" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "desaparecidos" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #304,170 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "desaparecido" and "desaparecidos" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "desaparecía vs desaparecido". 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 #304,170 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.