empeoradovsempeorandoWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#30,055
“empeorado” frequency rank
#21,315
“empeorando” frequency rank
51370
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature empeorado empeorando
Definition Participio de empeorar. Gerundio de empeorar.

Where the eye mixes empeorado and empeorando

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 9 letters in sequence. empeorado runs 9 letters (VCCVVCVCV) against empeorando's 10 (VCCVVCVCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

9 ch
empeorado
10 ch
empeorando

Visual trap between empeorado and empeorando

A purely visual mix-up. empeorado ([ẽmpeoˈɾað̞o]) and empeorando ([ẽmpeoˈɾãn̪d̪o]) 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 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 51370, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

empeorado is recorded at frequency rank #30,055, classified as averb, pronounced [ẽmpeoˈɾað̞o]. empeorando is at rank #21,315, tagged as averb, pronounced [ẽmpeoˈɾãn̪d̪o].

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 51370, this pair ranks #98,225 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of empeorado vs empeorando

Shared letters: ademopr. Private to "empeorado": -. Private to "empeorando": n.

"empeorado" · 9 letters · shape VCCVVCVCV  ·  "empeorando" · 10 letters · shape VCCVVCVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • empeoradoemeporado · emmpeorado · empeoardo · empeoraddo · empeoraod · empeordao · empeorrado · emperoado
  • empeorandoemeporando · emmpeorando · empeoarndo · empeoradno · empeoranddo · empeoranndo · empeoranod · empeornado

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "empeorado" and "empeorando" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ẽmpeoˈɾað̞o] versus [ẽmpeoˈɾãn̪d̪o]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary Spanish text, does "empeorado" or "empeorando" show up more?
"empeorando" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #21,315 in our Spanish list, against #30,055 for "empeorado". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "empeorado" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "empeorando" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #98,225 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "empeorado" and "empeorando" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "empeorado vs empeoran". 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 #98,225 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