destrozavsdestrozadoWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#29,598
“destroza” frequency rank
#15,588
“destrozado” frequency rank
45186
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature destroza destrozado
Definition Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de destrozar. Participio de destrozar.

Where the eye mixes destroza and destrozado

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. destroza runs 8 letters (CVCCCVCV) against destrozado's 10 (CVCCCVCVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

8 ch
destroza
10 ch
destrozado

Why the eye confuses destroza with destrozado

A purely visual mix-up. destroza ([d̪esˈt̪ɾosa]) and destrozado ([d̪est̪ɾoˈsað̞o]) 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 2 extra letter(s) - “destroza” sits inside “destrozado”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 45186, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

destroza is recorded at frequency rank #29,598, classified as averb, pronounced [d̪esˈt̪ɾosa]. destrozado is at rank #15,588, tagged as averb, pronounced [d̪est̪ɾoˈsað̞o].

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 45186, this pair ranks #132,889 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of destroza vs destrozado

Shared letters: adeorstz. Private to "destroza": -. Private to "destrozado": -.

"destroza" · 8 letters · shape CVCCCVCV  ·  "destrozado" · 10 letters · shape CVCCCVCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • destroza ← ddestroza · desrtoza · desstroza · destorza · destroaz · destrozza · destrroza · destrzoa
  • destrozado ← ddestrozado · desrtozado · desstrozado · destorzado · destroazdo · destrozaddo · destrozaod · destrozdao

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "destroza" and "destrozado" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([d̪esˈt̪ɾosa] versus [d̪est̪ɾoˈsað̞o]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "destroza" vs "destrozado" - which ranks higher?
"destrozado" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #15,588 in our Spanish list, against #29,598 for "destroza". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "destroza" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "destrozado" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #132,889 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "destroza" and "destrozado" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "destroza vs destrozan". 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 #132,889 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