moderavsmodernTell them apart

Quick tell: modera is a verb, modern is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“modera” is a verb and “modern” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#49,144
“modera” frequency rank
#23,506
“modern” frequency rank
72650
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature modera modern
Definition Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de moderar. Moderno.

Where the eye mixes modera and modern

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.

6 ch
modera
6 ch
modern

Look-alike desk: modera vs modern

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: modera is [moˈð̞eɾa] while modern is /ˈmɒd.ən/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - a in “modera” becomes n in “modern”, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 72650, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

modera is recorded at frequency rank #49,144, classified as averb, pronounced [moˈð̞eɾa]. modern is at rank #23,506, tagged as anadj, pronounced /ˈmɒd.ən/.

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 72650, this pair ranks #24,932 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of modera vs modern

Shared letters: demor. Private to "modera": a. Private to "modern": n.

"modera" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV  ·  "modern" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • moderamdoera · mmodera · moddera · modear · modrea · moedra · omdera
  • modernmdoern · mmodern · moddern · modenr · modernn · moderrn · modren · moedrn

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "modera" for "modern" ever safe?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "modera" is a verb and "modern" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "modera" or "modern"?
"modern" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #23,506 in our Spanish list, against #49,144 for "modera". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "modera" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "modern" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #24,932 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "modera" and "modern" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "modera vs moviera". 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 #24,932 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