ganadovsganarWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: ganado is a adjective, ganar is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

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

#1,510
“ganado” frequency rank
#708
“ganar” frequency rank
2218
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature ganado ganar
Definition El que gana. Obtener un beneficio económico.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set ganado and ganar apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
ganado
5 ch
ganar

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: ganado is [gaˈnað̞o] while ganar is [gaˈnaɾ]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 2218, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

ganado is recorded at frequency rank #1,510, classified as anadj, pronounced [gaˈnað̞o]. ganar is at rank #708, tagged as averb, pronounced [gaˈnaɾ].

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 2218, this pair ranks #320,764 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of ganado vs ganar

Shared letters: agn. Private to "ganado": do. Private to "ganar": r.

"ganado" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV  ·  "ganar" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • ganadoagnado · gaando · ganaddo · ganaod · gandao · gannado · gganado · gnaado
  • ganaragnar · gaanr · ganarr · gannar · ganra · gganar · gnaar

Frequency comparison

ganado#1,510
ganar#708

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "ganado" and "ganar" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "ganado" is an adjective and "ganar" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "ganado" or "ganar"?
"ganar" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #708 in our Spanish list, against #1,510 for "ganado". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering ganado vs ganar

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

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