Which to use
“desterrado” and “desterrar” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #27,958
- “desterrado” frequency rank
- #42,394
- “desterrar” frequency rank
- 70352
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | desterrado | desterrar |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Participio de desterrar. | Expulsar a alguien de un territorio. |
Where the eye mixes desterrado and desterrar
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. desterrado runs 10 letters (CVCCVCCVCV) against desterrar's 9 (CVCCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: desterrado vs desterrar
A purely visual mix-up. desterrado ([d̪est̪eˈrað̞o]) and desterrar ([d̪est̪eˈraɾ]) 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 70352, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
desterrado is recorded at frequency rank #27,958, classified as averb, pronounced [d̪est̪eˈrað̞o]. desterrar is at rank #42,394, tagged as averb, pronounced [d̪est̪eˈraɾ].
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 70352, this pair ranks #29,911 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of desterrado vs desterrar
Shared letters: aderst. Private to "desterrado": o. Private to "desterrar": -.
"desterrado" · 10 letters · shape CVCCVCCVCV · "desterrar" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- desterrado ← ddesterrado · desetrrado · dessterrado · desterado · desterardo · desterraddo · desterraod · desterrdao
- desterrar ← ddesterrar · desetrrar · dessterrar · desterar · desterarr · desterrarr · desterrra · destrerar
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "desterrado" for "desterrar" ever safe?
Which is more common, "desterrado" or "desterrar"?
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 "desterrado" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "desterrar" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #29,911 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "desterrado" and "desterrar" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "desertar vs desterrar". 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 #29,911 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.