Which to use
“encantaba” is a verb and “encantado” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #15,604
- “encantaba” frequency rank
- #6,293
- “encantado” frequency rank
- 21897
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | encantaba | encantado |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Primera persona del singular (yo) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de encantar o de encantarse. | Distraído o embobado. |
Where the eye mixes encantaba and encantado
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. encantaba and encantado follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (VCCVCCVCV). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Why the eye confuses encantaba with encantado
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: encantaba is [ẽŋkãn̪ˈt̪aβ̞a] while encantado is [ẽŋkãn̪ˈt̪að̞o]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 21897, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
encantaba is recorded at frequency rank #15,604, classified as averb, pronounced [ẽŋkãn̪ˈt̪aβ̞a]. encantado is at rank #6,293, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ẽŋkãn̪ˈt̪að̞o].
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 21897, this pair ranks #252,849 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of encantaba vs encantado
Shared letters: acent. Private to "encantaba": b. Private to "encantado": do.
"encantaba" · 9 letters · shape VCCVCCVCV · "encantado" · 9 letters · shape VCCVCCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "encantaba" for "encantado" ever safe?
In ordinary Spanish text, does "encantaba" or "encantado" show up more?
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 "encantaba" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "encantado" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #252,849 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "encantaba" and "encantado" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "encantaba vs encantaban". 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 #252,849 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.