Which to use
“encabeza” is a verb and “encabezada” is a participle - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #13,683
- “encabeza” frequency rank
- #14,130
- “encabezada” frequency rank
- 27813
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | encabeza | encabezada |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de encabezar. | Forma del femenino de encabezado, participio de encabezar. |
Where the eye mixes encabeza and encabezada
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. encabeza runs 8 letters (VCCVCVCV) against encabezada's 10 (VCCVCVCVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses encabeza with encabezada
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: encabeza is [ẽŋkaˈβ̞esa] while encabezada is [ẽŋkaβ̞eˈsað̞a]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “encabeza” sits inside “encabezada”, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs participle), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 27813, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
encabeza is recorded at frequency rank #13,683, classified as averb, pronounced [ẽŋkaˈβ̞esa]. encabezada is at rank #14,130, tagged as aparticiple, pronounced [ẽŋkaβ̞eˈsað̞a].
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 27813, this pair ranks #225,037 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of encabeza vs encabezada
Shared letters: abcenz. Private to "encabeza": -. Private to "encabezada": d.
"encabeza" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCVCV · "encabezada" · 10 letters · shape VCCVCVCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- encabeza ← ecnabeza · enacbeza · encabbeza · encabeaz · encabezza · encabzea · encaebza · encaveza
- encabezada ← ecnabezada · enacbezada · encabbezada · encabeazda · encabezaad · encabezadda · encabezdaa · encabezzada
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "encabeza" and "encabezada" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary Spanish text, does "encabeza" or "encabezada" show up more?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "encabeza" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "encabezada" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #225,037 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "encabeza" and "encabezada" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "encabezada vs encabezadas". 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 #225,037 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.