fichadovsfirmadoWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: fichado is a verb, firmado is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“fichado” is a verb and “firmado” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#28,758
“fichado” frequency rank
#3,632
“firmado” frequency rank
32390
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature fichado firmado
Definition Participio de fichar. Firme, resuelto.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set fichado and firmado apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

7 ch
fichado
7 ch
firmado

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: fichado is [fiˈt͡ʃað̞o] while firmado is [fiɾˈmað̞o]. 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 32390, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

fichado is recorded at frequency rank #28,758, classified as averb, pronounced [fiˈt͡ʃað̞o]. firmado is at rank #3,632, tagged as anadj, pronounced [fiɾˈmað̞o].

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 32390, this pair ranks #202,222 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of fichado vs firmado

Shared letters: adfio. Private to "fichado": ch. Private to "firmado": mr.

"fichado" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCV  ·  "firmado" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • fichadofcihado · ffichado · ficahdo · ficchado · fichaddo · fichaod · fichdao · fichhado
  • firmadoffirmado · fimrado · firamdo · firmaddo · firmaod · firmdao · firmmado · firrmado

Frequency comparison

fichado#28,758
firmado#3,632

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "fichado" and "firmado" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "fichado" is a verb and "firmado" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "fichado" or "firmado"?
"firmado" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,632 in our Spanish list, against #28,758 for "fichado". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering fichado vs firmado

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

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