intensidadvsintensivaConfusable pair

Quick tell: intensidad is a noun, intensiva is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“intensidad” is a noun and “intensiva” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#4,436
“intensidad” frequency rank
#18,575
“intensiva” frequency rank
23011
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature intensidad intensiva
Definition Grado de fuerza o energía desplegado por un agente natural o mecánico, una cualidad, una expresión, etc. Forma del femenino de intensivo.

Where the eye mixes intensidad and intensiva

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

10 ch
intensidad
9 ch
intensiva

Why the eye confuses intensidad with intensiva

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: intensidad is [ĩn̪t̪ẽnsiˈð̞að̞] while intensiva is [ĩn̪t̪ẽnˈsiβ̞a]. 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 (noun vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 23011, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

intensidad is recorded at frequency rank #4,436, classified as anoun, pronounced [ĩn̪t̪ẽnsiˈð̞að̞]. intensiva is at rank #18,575, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ĩn̪t̪ẽnˈsiβ̞a].

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 23011, this pair ranks #247,754 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of intensidad vs intensiva

Shared letters: aeinst. Private to "intensidad": d. Private to "intensiva": v.

"intensidad" · 10 letters · shape VCCVCCVCVC  ·  "intensiva" · 9 letters · shape VCCVCCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • intensidad ← inetnsidad · inntensidad · intencidad · intenisdad · intennsidad · intensdiad · intensiadd · intensidadd
  • intensiva ← inetnsiva · inntensiva · intenciva · intenisva · intennsiva · intensiav · intensiba · intensivva

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "intensidad" and "intensiva" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "intensidad" is a noun and "intensiva" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "intensidad" or "intensiva"?
"intensidad" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #4,436 in our Spanish list, against #18,575 for "intensiva". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Eye-level mix-up between "intensidad" and "intensiva" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "intensidad" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "intensiva" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #247,754 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "intensidad" and "intensiva" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "intensiva vs inventiva". 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 #247,754 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