Which to use
“machado” is a noun and “manchado” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #10,704
- “machado” frequency rank
- #20,736
- “manchado” frequency rank
- 31440
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | machado | manchado |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Herramienta para cortar madera. | Que está salpicado de manchas |
Where the eye mixes machado and manchado
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. machado runs 7 letters (CVCCVCV) against manchado's 8 (CVCCCVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: machado vs manchado
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: machado is [maˈt͡ʃað̞o] while manchado is [mãnʲˈt͡ʃað̞o]. 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 31440, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
machado is recorded at frequency rank #10,704, classified as anoun, pronounced [maˈt͡ʃað̞o]. manchado is at rank #20,736, tagged as anadj, pronounced [mãnʲˈt͡ʃað̞o].
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 31440, this pair ranks #207,064 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of machado vs manchado
Shared letters: acdhmo. Private to "machado": -. Private to "manchado": n.
"machado" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCV · "manchado" · 8 letters · shape CVCCCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "machado" for "manchado" ever safe?
Which is more common, "machado" or "manchado"?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "machado" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "manchado" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #207,064 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "machado" and "manchado" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "manchado vs manchados". 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 #207,064 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.