detectavsdetectadoConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#16,816
“detecta” frequency rank
#13,885
“detectado” frequency rank
30701
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature detecta detectado
Definition Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de detectar. Participio de detectar.

Where the eye mixes detecta and detectado

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence.

7 ch
detecta
9 ch
detectado

Visual trap between detecta and detectado

A purely visual mix-up. detecta ([d̪eˈt̪ekt̪a]) and detectado ([d̪et̪ekˈt̪að̞o]) 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) - “detecta” sits inside “detectado”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 30701, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

detecta is recorded at frequency rank #16,816, classified as averb, pronounced [d̪eˈt̪ekt̪a]. detectado is at rank #13,885, tagged as averb, pronounced [d̪et̪ekˈt̪að̞o].

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 30701, this pair ranks #210,715 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of detecta vs detectado

Shared letters: acdet. Private to "detecta": -. Private to "detectado": o.

"detecta" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCCV  ·  "detectado" · 9 letters · shape CVCVCCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • detectaddetecta · deetcta · detceta · detecat · deteccta · detectta · detetca · dettecta
  • detectadoddetectado · deetctado · detcetado · detecatdo · detecctado · detectaddo · detectaod · detectdao

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "detecta" and "detectado" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([d̪eˈt̪ekt̪a] versus [d̪et̪ekˈt̪að̞o]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary Spanish text, does "detecta" or "detectado" show up more?
"detectado" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #13,885 in our Spanish list, against #16,816 for "detecta". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "detecta" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "detectado" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #210,715 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "detecta" and "detectado" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "detecta vs detente". 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 #210,715 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