Which to use
“dificultad” is a noun and “dificultan” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #4,238
- “dificultad” frequency rank
- #29,164
- “dificultan” frequency rank
- 33402
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | dificultad | dificultan |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Contrariedad u obstáculo que se interpone en la consecución sin complicaciones de algún fin tal como llevar a cabo algo, llegar a algún lugar o comprender algo. | Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de dificultar. |
Where the eye mixes dificultad and dificultan
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 9 letters in sequence. dificultad and dificultan follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCVCVCCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Why the eye confuses dificultad with dificultan
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: dificultad is [d̪ifikul̪ˈt̪að̞] while dificultan is [d̪ifiˈkul̪t̪ãn]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - d in “dificultad” becomes n in “dificultan”, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 33402, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
dificultad is recorded at frequency rank #4,238, classified as anoun, pronounced [d̪ifikul̪ˈt̪að̞]. dificultan is at rank #29,164, tagged as averb, pronounced [d̪ifiˈkul̪t̪ãn].
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 33402, this pair ranks #197,008 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of dificultad vs dificultan
Shared letters: acdfiltu. Private to "dificultad": -. Private to "dificultan": n.
"dificultad" · 10 letters · shape CVCVCVCCVC · "dificultan" · 10 letters · shape CVCVCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- dificultad ← ddificultad · dfiicultad · difciultad · difficultad · dificcultad · dificlutad · dificulatd · dificulltad
- dificultan ← ddificultan · dfiicultan · difciultan · difficultan · dificcultan · dificlutan · dificulatn · dificulltan
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "dificultad" and "dificultan" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "dificultad" vs "dificultan" - which ranks higher?
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 "dificultad" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "dificultan" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #197,008 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "dificultad" and "dificultan" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "dificultan vs dificultando". 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 #197,008 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.