despiadadavsdespiadadosWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

“despiadada” and “despiadados” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#30,030
“despiadada” frequency rank
#45,874
“despiadados” frequency rank
75904
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature despiadada despiadados
Definition Forma del femenino singular de despiadado. Forma del masculino plural de despiadado.

Where the eye mixes despiadada and despiadados

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 9 letters in sequence. despiadada runs 10 letters (CVCCVVCVCV) against despiadados's 11 (CVCCVVCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

10 ch
despiadada
11 ch
despiadados

Look-alike desk: despiadada vs despiadados

A purely visual mix-up. despiadada ([d̪espjaˈð̞að̞a]) and despiadados ([d̪espjaˈð̞að̞os]) 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 75904, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

despiadada is recorded at frequency rank #30,030, classified as anadj, pronounced [d̪espjaˈð̞að̞a]. despiadados is at rank #45,874, tagged as anadj, pronounced [d̪espjaˈð̞að̞os].

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 75904, this pair ranks #18,685 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of despiadada vs despiadados

Shared letters: adeips. Private to "despiadada": -. Private to "despiadados": o.

"despiadada" · 10 letters · shape CVCCVVCVCV  ·  "despiadados" · 11 letters · shape CVCCVVCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • despiadada ← ddespiadada · depsiadada · desipadada · despaidada · despiaadda · despiadaad · despiadadda · despiaddaa
  • despiadados ← ddespiadados · depsiadados · desipadados · despaidados · despiaaddos · despiadaddos · despiadadoss · despiadadso

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "despiadada" and "despiadados" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([d̪espjaˈð̞að̞a] versus [d̪espjaˈð̞að̞os]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "despiadada" or "despiadados"?
"despiadada" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #30,030 in our Spanish list, against #45,874 for "despiadados". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

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 "despiadada" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "despiadados" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #18,685 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "despiadada" and "despiadados" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "despiadado vs despiadados". 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 #18,685 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list