machadovsmatadoWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

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

#10,704
“machado” frequency rank
#7,192
“matado” frequency rank
17896
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature machado matado
Definition Herramienta para cortar madera. Participio de matar o de matarse.

Where the eye mixes machado and matado

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.

7 ch
machado
6 ch
matado

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: machado is [maˈt͡ʃað̞o] while matado is [maˈt̪að̞o]. 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 verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 17896, 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]. matado is at rank #7,192, tagged as averb, pronounced [maˈt̪að̞o].

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 17896, this pair ranks #270,229 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of machado vs matado

Shared letters: admo. Private to "machado": ch. Private to "matado": t.

"machado" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCV  ·  "matado" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • machadoamchado · macahdo · macchado · machaddo · machaod · machdao · machhado · mahcado
  • matadoamtado · maatdo · mataddo · mataod · matdao · mattado · mmatado · mtaado

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "machado" and "matado" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "machado" is a noun and "matado" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "machado" or "matado"?
"matado" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #7,192 in our Spanish list, against #10,704 for "machado". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list