pagadovsposadoWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#4,184
“pagado” frequency rank
#47,341
“posado” frequency rank
51525
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature pagado posado
Definition Alegre. Difunto.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set pagado and posado apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
pagado
6 ch
posado

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. pagado ([paˈɣ̞að̞o]) and posado ([poˈsað̞o]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 51525, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

pagado is recorded at frequency rank #4,184, classified as anadj, pronounced [paˈɣ̞að̞o]. posado is at rank #47,341, tagged as anadj, pronounced [poˈsað̞o].

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 51525, this pair ranks #97,443 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of pagado vs posado

Shared letters: adop. Private to "pagado": g. Private to "posado": s.

"pagado" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV  ·  "posado" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • pagadoapgado · paagdo · pagaddo · pagaod · pagdao · paggado · pgaado · ppagado
  • posadoopsado · poasdo · posaddo · posaod · posdao · possado · pposado · psoado

Frequency comparison

pagado#4,184
posado#47,341

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "pagado" and "posado" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([paˈɣ̞að̞o] versus [poˈsað̞o]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "pagado" or "posado"?
"pagado" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #4,184 in our Spanish list, against #47,341 for "posado". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering pagado vs posado

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “pagado” 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