maltratarvsmaltratosWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

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

#34,205
“maltratar” frequency rank
#37,707
“maltratos” frequency rank
71912
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature maltratar maltratos
Definition Tratar mal de palabra u obra. Forma del plural de maltrato.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set maltratar and maltratos apart are highlighted. They share 7 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

9 ch
maltratar
9 ch
maltratos

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: maltratar is [mal̪t̪ɾaˈt̪aɾ] while maltratos is [mal̪ˈt̪ɾat̪os]. 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 (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 71912, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

maltratar is recorded at frequency rank #34,205, classified as averb, pronounced [mal̪t̪ɾaˈt̪aɾ]. maltratos is at rank #37,707, tagged as anoun, pronounced [mal̪ˈt̪ɾat̪os].

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 71912, this pair ranks #26,473 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of maltratar vs maltratos

Shared letters: almrt. Private to "maltratar": -. Private to "maltratos": os.

"maltratar" · 9 letters · shape CVCCCVCVC  ·  "maltratos" · 9 letters · shape CVCCCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • maltrataramltratar · malltratar · malrtatar · maltartar · maltraatr · maltratarr · maltratra · maltrattar
  • maltratosamltratos · malltratos · malrtatos · maltartos · maltraots · maltratoss · maltratso · maltrattos

Frequency comparison

maltratar#34,205
maltratos#37,707

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "maltratar" and "maltratos" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "maltratar" is a verb and "maltratos" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "maltratar" or "maltratos"?
"maltratar" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #34,205 in our Spanish list, against #37,707 for "maltratos". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering maltratar vs maltratos

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “maltratar”; for a noun, it's “maltratos”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “maltratar” 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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list