machadovsmareadoWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: machado is a noun, mareado is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“machado” is a noun and “mareado” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#10,704
“machado” frequency rank
#35,610
“mareado” frequency rank
46314
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature machado mareado
Definition Herramienta para cortar madera. Participio de marear.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set machado and mareado apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

7 ch
machado
7 ch
mareado

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: machado is [maˈt͡ʃað̞o] while mareado is [maɾeˈað̞o]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 46314, 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]. mareado is at rank #35,610, tagged as averb, pronounced [maɾeˈað̞o].

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 46314, this pair ranks #126,441 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of machado vs mareado

Shared letters: admo. Private to "machado": ch. Private to "mareado": er.

"machado" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCV  ·  "mareado" · 7 letters · shape CVCVVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • machadoamchado · macahdo · macchado · machaddo · machaod · machdao · machhado · mahcado
  • mareadoamreado · maerado · maraedo · mareaddo · mareaod · maredao · marreado · mmareado

Frequency comparison

machado#10,704
mareado#35,610

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "machado" and "mareado" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "machado" is a noun and "mareado" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "machado" or "mareado"?
"machado" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #10,704 in our Spanish list, against #35,610 for "mareado". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering machado vs mareado

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

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