Which to use
“maltrata” is a verb and “maltratado” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #40,384
- “maltrata” frequency rank
- #26,513
- “maltratado” frequency rank
- 66897
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | maltrata | maltratado |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de maltratar o de maltratarse. | Que ha sufrido maltrato o abuso. |
Where the eye mixes maltrata and maltratado
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. maltrata runs 8 letters (CVCCCVCV) against maltratado's 10 (CVCCCVCVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses maltrata with maltratado
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: maltrata is [mal̪ˈt̪ɾat̪a] while maltratado is [mal̪t̪ɾaˈt̪að̞o]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “maltrata” sits inside “maltratado”, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 66897, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
maltrata is recorded at frequency rank #40,384, classified as averb, pronounced [mal̪ˈt̪ɾat̪a]. maltratado is at rank #26,513, tagged as anadj, pronounced [mal̪t̪ɾaˈt̪að̞o].
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 66897, this pair ranks #38,568 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of maltrata vs maltratado
Shared letters: almrt. Private to "maltrata": -. Private to "maltratado": do.
"maltrata" · 8 letters · shape CVCCCVCV · "maltratado" · 10 letters · shape CVCCCVCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- maltrata ← amltrata · malltrata · malrtata · maltarta · maltraat · maltratta · maltrrata · maltrtaa
- maltratado ← amltratado · malltratado · malrtatado · maltartado · maltraatdo · maltrataddo · maltrataod · maltratdao
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "maltrata" for "maltratado" ever safe?
In ordinary Spanish text, does "maltrata" or "maltratado" show up more?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "maltrata" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "maltratado" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #38,568 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "maltrata" and "maltratado" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "maltrata vs maltratan". 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 #38,568 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.