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 eye mixes machado and mareado
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. machado (CVCCVCV) and mareado (CVCVVCV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Look-alike desk: machado vs mareado
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
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "machado" for "mareado" ever safe?
Frequency check: "machado" vs "mareado" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
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 "mareado" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #126,441 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "machado" and "mareado" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "mamado vs mareado". 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 #126,441 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.