otorgadovsotorgarWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#8,033
“otorgado” frequency rank
#10,192
“otorgar” frequency rank
18225
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature otorgado otorgar
Definition Participio de otorgar. Acceder, aceptar o decir que sí a algo solicitado o preguntado.

Where the eye mixes otorgado and otorgar

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. otorgado runs 8 letters (VCVCCVCV) against otorgar's 7 (VCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

8 ch
otorgado
7 ch
otorgar

Why the eye confuses otorgado with otorgar

A purely visual mix-up. otorgado ([ot̪oɾˈɣ̞að̞o]) and otorgar ([ot̪oɾˈɣ̞aɾ]) 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 18225, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

otorgado is recorded at frequency rank #8,033, classified as averb, pronounced [ot̪oɾˈɣ̞að̞o]. otorgar is at rank #10,192, tagged as averb, pronounced [ot̪oɾˈɣ̞aɾ].

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 18225, this pair ranks #268,816 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of otorgado vs otorgar

Shared letters: agort. Private to "otorgado": d. Private to "otorgar": -.

"otorgado" · 8 letters · shape VCVCCVCV  ·  "otorgar" · 7 letters · shape VCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • otorgado ← ootrgado · otogrado · otoragdo · otorgaddo · otorgaod · otorgdao · otorggado · otorrgado
  • otorgar ← ootrgar · otograr · otoragr · otorgarr · otorggar · otorgra · otorrgar · otrogar

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "otorgado" and "otorgar" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ot̪oɾˈɣ̞að̞o] versus [ot̪oɾˈɣ̞aɾ]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "otorgado" vs "otorgar" - which ranks higher?
"otorgado" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #8,033 in our Spanish list, against #10,192 for "otorgar". 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 "otorgado" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "otorgar" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #268,816 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "otorgado" and "otorgar" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "otorgaba vs otorgar". 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 #268,816 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