disculpavsdisculpadoWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: disculpa is a noun, disculpado is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“disculpa” is a noun and “disculpado” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#4,506
“disculpa” frequency rank
#48,357
“disculpado” frequency rank
52863
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature disculpa disculpado
Definition Argumento con el que se intenta negar o quitar importancia a una culpa. Participio de disculpar.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set disculpa and disculpado apart are highlighted. They share 8 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

8 ch
disculpa
10 ch
disculpado

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: disculpa is [d̪isˈkulpa] while disculpado is [d̪iskulˈpað̞o]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “disculpa” sits inside “disculpado”, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 52863, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

disculpa is recorded at frequency rank #4,506, classified as anoun, pronounced [d̪isˈkulpa]. disculpado is at rank #48,357, tagged as averb, pronounced [d̪iskulˈpað̞o].

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 52863, this pair ranks #90,633 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of disculpa vs disculpado

Shared letters: acdilpsu. Private to "disculpa": -. Private to "disculpado": o.

"disculpa" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCCV  ·  "disculpado" · 10 letters · shape CVCCVCCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • disculpaddisculpa · dicsulpa · discculpa · disclupa · disculap · discullpa · disculppa · discupla
  • disculpadoddisculpado · dicsulpado · discculpado · disclupado · disculapdo · discullpado · disculpaddo · disculpaod

Frequency comparison

disculpa#4,506
disculpado#48,357

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "disculpa" and "disculpado" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "disculpa" is a noun and "disculpado" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "disculpa" or "disculpado"?
"disculpa" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #4,506 in our Spanish list, against #48,357 for "disculpado". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering disculpa vs disculpado

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “disculpa”; for a verb, it's “disculpado”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “disculpa” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list