duplicadovsduplicarWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

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

#18,802
“duplicado” frequency rank
#21,991
“duplicar” frequency rank
40793
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature duplicado duplicar
Definition Documento copiado exactamente del original por medios mecánicos o fotográficos, que tiene su misma validez legal, utilizado como respaldo para el caso de extravío o pérdida accidental. Hacer doble una cosa; hacerla dos veces mayor o que quede con dos partes.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set duplicado and duplicar apart are highlighted. They share 7 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

9 ch
duplicado
8 ch
duplicar

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: duplicado is [d̪upliˈkað̞o] while duplicar is [d̪upliˈkaɾ]. 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 (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 40793, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

duplicado is recorded at frequency rank #18,802, classified as anoun, pronounced [d̪upliˈkað̞o]. duplicar is at rank #21,991, tagged as averb, pronounced [d̪upliˈkaɾ].

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 40793, this pair ranks #157,191 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of duplicado vs duplicar

Shared letters: acdilpu. Private to "duplicado": o. Private to "duplicar": r.

"duplicado" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCVCV  ·  "duplicar" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • duplicadodduplicado · dpulicado · dulpicado · dupilcado · duplciado · dupliacdo · duplicaddo · duplicaod
  • duplicardduplicar · dpulicar · dulpicar · dupilcar · duplciar · dupliacr · duplicarr · dupliccar

Frequency comparison

duplicado#18,802
duplicar#21,991

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "duplicado" and "duplicar" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "duplicado" is a noun and "duplicar" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "duplicado" or "duplicar"?
"duplicado" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #18,802 in our Spanish list, against #21,991 for "duplicar". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering duplicado vs duplicar

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “duplicado”; for a verb, it's “duplicar”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “duplicado” 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