Which to use
“detectada” is a participle and “detectan” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #37,032
- “detectada” frequency rank
- #24,114
- “detectan” frequency rank
- 61146
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | detectada | detectan |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Forma del femenino de detectado, participio de detectar. | Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de detectar. |
Where the eye mixes detectada and detectan
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses detectada with detectan
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: detectada is [d̪et̪ekˈt̪að̞a] while detectan is [d̪eˈt̪ekt̪ãn]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (participle vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 61146, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
detectada is recorded at frequency rank #37,032, classified as aparticiple, pronounced [d̪et̪ekˈt̪að̞a]. detectan is at rank #24,114, tagged as averb, pronounced [d̪eˈt̪ekt̪ãn].
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 61146, this pair ranks #56,456 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of detectada vs detectan
Shared letters: acdet. Private to "detectada": -. Private to "detectan": n.
"detectada" · 9 letters · shape CVCVCCVCV · "detectan" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "detectada" and "detectan" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary Spanish text, does "detectada" or "detectan" show up more?
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 "detectada" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "detectan" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #56,456 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "detectada" and "detectan" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "detectada vs detectadas". 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 #56,456 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.