elaboravselaboradoConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#15,357
“elabora” frequency rank
#7,014
“elaborado” frequency rank
22371
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature elabora elaborado
Definition Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de elaborar. Participio de elaborar.

Where the eye mixes elabora and elaborado

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. elabora runs 7 letters (VCVCVCV) against elaborado's 9 (VCVCVCVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

7 ch
elabora
9 ch
elaborado

Visual trap between elabora and elaborado

A purely visual mix-up. elabora ([elaˈβ̞oɾa]) and elaborado ([elaβ̞oˈɾað̞o]) 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) - “elabora” sits inside “elaborado”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 22371, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

elabora is recorded at frequency rank #15,357, classified as averb, pronounced [elaˈβ̞oɾa]. elaborado is at rank #7,014, tagged as averb, pronounced [elaβ̞oˈɾað̞o].

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 22371, this pair ranks #250,638 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of elabora vs elaborado

Shared letters: abelor. Private to "elabora": -. Private to "elaborado": d.

"elabora" · 7 letters · shape VCVCVCV  ·  "elaborado" · 9 letters · shape VCVCVCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • elabora ← ealbora · elabbora · elaboar · elabroa · elaobra · elavora · elbaora · ellabora
  • elaborado ← ealborado · elabborado · elaboardo · elaboraddo · elaboraod · elabordao · elaborrado · elabroado

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "elabora" for "elaborado" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([elaˈβ̞oɾa] versus [elaβ̞oˈɾað̞o]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "elabora" or "elaborado"?
"elaborado" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #7,014 in our Spanish list, against #15,357 for "elabora". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

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 "elabora" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "elaborado" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #250,638 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "elabora" and "elaborado" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "elabora vs evapora". 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 #250,638 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