Which to use
“merecido” is an adjective and “mereció” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #8,990
- “merecido” frequency rank
- #24,567
- “mereció” frequency rank
- 33557
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | merecido | mereció |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Justo. Que ha sido ganado como consecuencia lógica de acciones, cualidades, actitudes o méritos propios. | Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del pretérito perfecto simple de indicativo de merecer o de merecerse. |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set merecido and mereció apart are highlighted. They share 6 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: merecido is [meɾeˈsið̞o] while mereció is [meɾeˈsjo]. 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 (adjective vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 33557, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
merecido is recorded at frequency rank #8,990, classified as anadj, pronounced [meɾeˈsið̞o]. mereció is at rank #24,567, tagged as averb, pronounced [meɾeˈsjo].
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 33557, this pair ranks #196,177 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of merecido vs mereció
Shared letters: ceimr. Private to "merecido": do. Private to "mereció": ó.
"merecido" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCVCV · "mereció" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVV
Known mistypes of this pair
- merecido ← emrecido · meercido · merceido · mereccido · merecdio · mereciddo · mereciod · mereicdo
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "merecido" and "mereció" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "merecido" or "mereció"?
Remembering merecido vs mereció
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need an adjective, it's “merecido”; for a verb, it's “mereció”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “merecido” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable