montadavsmontanWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: montada is a participle, montan is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“montada” is a participle and “montan” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#17,488
“montada” frequency rank
#23,141
“montan” frequency rank
40629
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature montada montan
Definition Forma del femenino de montado, participio de montar. Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de montar.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set montada and montan apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

7 ch
montada
6 ch
montan

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: montada is [mõn̪ˈt̪að̞a] while montan is [ˈmõn̪t̪ãn]. 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 (participle vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 40629, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

montada is recorded at frequency rank #17,488, classified as aparticiple, pronounced [mõn̪ˈt̪að̞a]. montan is at rank #23,141, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈmõn̪t̪ãn].

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 40629, this pair ranks #158,055 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of montada vs montan

Shared letters: amnot. Private to "montada": d. Private to "montan": -.

"montada" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCV  ·  "montan" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • montadammontada · mnotada · monatda · monntada · montaad · montadda · montdaa · monttada
  • montanmmontan · mnotan · monatn · monntan · montann · montna · monttan · motnan

Frequency comparison

montada#17,488
montan#23,141

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "montada" and "montan" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "montada" is a participle and "montan" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "montada" or "montan"?
"montada" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #17,488 in our Spanish list, against #23,141 for "montan". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering montada vs montan

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a participle, it's “montada”; for a verb, it's “montan”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “montada” 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