malvadovsmamadoConfusable pair

Which to use

“malvado” and “mamado” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#13,284
“malvado” frequency rank
#46,046
“mamado” frequency rank
59330
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature malvado mamado
Definition Que tiene maldad, que hace el mal. Bajo los efectos embriagantes del alcohol: ebrio.

Where the eye mixes malvado and mamado

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. malvado runs 7 letters (CVCCVCV) against mamado's 6 (CVCVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

7 ch
malvado
6 ch
mamado

Why the eye confuses malvado with mamado

A purely visual mix-up. malvado ([malˈβ̞að̞o]) and mamado ([maˈmað̞o]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 59330, 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]. mamado is at rank #46,046, tagged as anadj, pronounced [maˈmað̞o].

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 59330, this pair ranks #63,013 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of malvado vs mamado

Shared letters: admo. Private to "malvado": lv. Private to "mamado": -.

"malvado" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCV  ·  "mamado" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • malvado ← amlvado · malavdo · malbado · mallvado · malvaddo · malvaod · malvdao · malvvado
  • mamado ← maamdo · mamaddo · mamaod · mamdao · mammado · mmaado · mmamado

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "malvado" for "mamado" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([malˈβ̞að̞o] versus [maˈmað̞o]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "malvado" vs "mamado" - which ranks higher?
"malvado" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #13,284 in our Spanish list, against #46,046 for "mamado". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

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 "mamado" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #63,013 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "malvado" and "mamado" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "mamado vs Mamani". 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 #63,013 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list