ilustravsilustradoWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#14,618
“ilustra” frequency rank
#13,064
“ilustrado” frequency rank
27682
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature ilustra ilustrado
Definition Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de ilustrar. Participio de ilustrar.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set ilustra and ilustrado apart are highlighted. They share 7 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

7 ch
ilustra
9 ch
ilustrado

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. ilustra ([iˈlust̪ɾa]) and ilustrado ([ilusˈt̪ɾað̞o]) 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 extra letter(s) - “ilustra” sits inside “ilustrado”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 27682, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

ilustra is recorded at frequency rank #14,618, classified as averb, pronounced [iˈlust̪ɾa]. ilustrado is at rank #13,064, tagged as averb, pronounced [ilusˈt̪ɾað̞o].

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 27682, this pair ranks #225,662 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of ilustra vs ilustrado

Shared letters: ailrstu. Private to "ilustra": -. Private to "ilustrado": do.

"ilustra" · 7 letters · shape VCVCCCV  ·  "ilustrado" · 9 letters · shape VCVCCCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • ilustraillustra · ilsutra · ilusrta · ilusstra · ilustar · ilustrra · ilusttra · ilutsra
  • ilustradoillustrado · ilsutrado · ilusrtado · ilusstrado · ilustardo · ilustraddo · ilustraod · ilustrdao

Frequency comparison

ilustra#14,618
ilustrado#13,064

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "ilustra" and "ilustrado" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([iˈlust̪ɾa] versus [ilusˈt̪ɾað̞o]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "ilustra" or "ilustrado"?
"ilustrado" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #13,064 in our Spanish list, against #14,618 for "ilustra". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering ilustra vs ilustrado

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “ilustra” 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