infectadavsinfectadosWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#27,649
“infectada” frequency rank
#17,732
“infectados” frequency rank
45381
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature infectada infectados
Definition Forma del femenino de infectado, participio de infectar. Forma del plural de infectado, participio de infectar.

Where the eye mixes infectada and infectados

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. infectada runs 9 letters (VCCVCCVCV) against infectados's 10 (VCCVCCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

9 ch
infectada
10 ch
infectados

Why the eye confuses infectada with infectados

A purely visual mix-up. infectada ([ĩɱfekˈt̪að̞a]) and infectados ([ĩɱfekˈt̪að̞os]) 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 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 45381, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

infectada is recorded at frequency rank #27,649, classified as aparticiple, pronounced [ĩɱfekˈt̪að̞a]. infectados is at rank #17,732, tagged as aparticiple, pronounced [ĩɱfekˈt̪að̞os].

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 45381, this pair ranks #131,762 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of infectada vs infectados

Shared letters: acdefint. Private to "infectada": -. Private to "infectados": os.

"infectada" · 9 letters · shape VCCVCCVCV  ·  "infectados" · 10 letters · shape VCCVCCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • infectada ← ifnectada · inefctada · infcetada · infecatda · infecctada · infectaad · infectadda · infectdaa
  • infectados ← ifnectados · inefctados · infcetados · infecatdos · infecctados · infectaddos · infectadoss · infectadso

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "infectada" and "infectados" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ĩɱfekˈt̪að̞a] versus [ĩɱfekˈt̪að̞os]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "infectada" or "infectados"?
"infectados" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #17,732 in our Spanish list, against #27,649 for "infectada". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "infectada" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "infectados" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #131,762 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "infectada" and "infectados" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "infecta vs infectada". 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 #131,762 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