estadovsestafadoWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

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

#95
“estado” frequency rank
#37,077
“estafado” frequency rank
37172
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature estado estafado
Definition Situación en que está una persona o una cosa, y en especial cada uno de los sucesivos modos de ser de una persona o cosa sujeta a cambios que influyen en su condición. Participio de estafar.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set estado and estafado apart are highlighted. They share 6 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
estado
8 ch
estafado

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: estado is [esˈt̪að̞o] while estafado is [est̪aˈfað̞o]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 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 37172, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

estado is recorded at frequency rank #95, classified as anoun, pronounced [esˈt̪að̞o]. estafado is at rank #37,077, tagged as averb, pronounced [est̪aˈfað̞o].

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 37172, this pair ranks #176,723 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of estado vs estafado

Shared letters: adeost. Private to "estado": -. Private to "estafado": f.

"estado" · 6 letters · shape VCCVCV  ·  "estafado" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • estadoesatdo · esstado · estaddo · estaod · estdao · esttado · etsado · setado
  • estafadoesatfado · esstafado · estaafdo · estafaddo · estafaod · estafdao · estaffado · estfaado

Frequency comparison

estado#95
estafado#37,077

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "estado" and "estafado" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "estado" is a noun and "estafado" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "estado" or "estafado"?
"estado" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #95 in our Spanish list, against #37,077 for "estafado". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering estado vs estafado

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

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