explicadovsexplicóTell them apart

Which to use

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

#7,556
“explicado” frequency rank
#3,321
“explicó” frequency rank
10877
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature explicado explicó
Definition Participio de explicar. Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del pretérito perfecto simple de indicativo de explicar.

Where the eye mixes explicado and explicó

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. explicado runs 9 letters (VCCCVCVCV) against explicó's 7 (VCCCVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

9 ch
explicado
7 ch
explicó

Visual trap between explicado and explicó

A purely visual mix-up. explicado ([ekspliˈkað̞o]) and explicó ([ekspliˈko]) 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 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 10877, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

explicado is recorded at frequency rank #7,556, classified as averb, pronounced [ekspliˈkað̞o]. explicó is at rank #3,321, tagged as averb, pronounced [ekspliˈko].

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 10877, this pair ranks #297,064 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of explicado vs explicó

Shared letters: ceilpx. Private to "explicado": ado. Private to "explicó": ó.

"explicado" · 9 letters · shape VCCCVCVCV  ·  "explicó" · 7 letters · shape VCCCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • explicado ← epxlicado · exlpicado · expilcado · explciado · expliacdo · explicaddo · explicaod · expliccado

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "explicado" and "explicó" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ekspliˈkað̞o] versus [ekspliˈko]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "explicado" or "explicó"?
"explicó" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,321 in our Spanish list, against #7,556 for "explicado". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "explicado" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "explicó" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #297,064 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "explicado" and "explicó" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "expirado vs explicado". 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 #297,064 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