Which to use
“desaparecido” is an adjective and “desapareció” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #3,624
- “desaparecido” frequency rank
- #5,946
- “desapareció” frequency rank
- 9570
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | desaparecido | desapareció |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Se dice de las personas de las que no se sabe dónde se encuentran y tampoco si continúan con vida. | Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del pretérito perfecto simple de indicativo de desaparecer o de desaparecerse. |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set desaparecido and desapareció apart are highlighted. They share 10 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
desaparecido and desapareció form a confusable pair in the Spanish index, two distinct headwords that are easily confused because they look alike, sound alike, or both. They differ by 1 letter(s) in length - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 9570, 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]. desapareció is at rank #5,946, tagged as averb, pronounced [d̪esapaɾeˈsjo].
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 9570, this pair ranks #301,530 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "desaparecido" and "desapareció" be used interchangeably?
Remembering desaparecido vs desapareció
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need an adjective, it's “desaparecido”; for a verb, it's “desapareció”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “desaparecido” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable