Which to use
“malvado” is an adjective and “malvados” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #13,284
- “malvado” frequency rank
- #18,308
- “malvados” frequency rank
- 31592
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | malvado | malvados |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Que tiene maldad, que hace el mal. | Forma del plural de malvado. |
Where the eye mixes malvado and malvados
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. malvado runs 7 letters (CVCCVCV) against malvados's 8 (CVCCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses malvado with malvados
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: malvado is [malˈβ̞að̞o] while malvados is [malˈβ̞að̞os]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “malvado” sits inside “malvados”, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 31592, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
malvado is recorded at frequency rank #13,284, classified as anadj, pronounced [malˈβ̞að̞o]. malvados is at rank #18,308, tagged as anoun, pronounced [malˈβ̞að̞os].
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 31592, this pair ranks #206,298 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of malvado vs malvados
Shared letters: adlmov. Private to "malvado": -. Private to "malvados": s.
"malvado" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCV · "malvados" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "malvado" for "malvados" ever safe?
Frequency check: "malvado" vs "malvados" - 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 "malvado" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "malvados" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #206,298 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "malvado" and "malvados" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "malva vs malvado". 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 #206,298 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.