pesadovspescandoWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: pesado is a adjective, pescando is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

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

#4,736
“pesado” frequency rank
#41,540
“pescando” frequency rank
46276
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature pesado pescando
Definition Que pesa mucho. Gerundio de pescar.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set pesado and pescando apart are highlighted. They share 6 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
pesado
8 ch
pescando

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: pesado is [peˈsað̞o] while pescando is [pesˈkãn̪d̪o]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 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 46276, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

pesado is recorded at frequency rank #4,736, classified as anadj, pronounced [peˈsað̞o]. pescando is at rank #41,540, tagged as averb, pronounced [pesˈkãn̪d̪o].

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 46276, this pair ranks #126,672 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of pesado vs pescando

Shared letters: adeops. Private to "pesado": -. Private to "pescando": cn.

"pesado" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV  ·  "pescando" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • pesadoepsado · peasdo · pesaddo · pesaod · pesdao · pessado · ppesado · pseado
  • pescandoepscando · pecsando · pesacndo · pescadno · pescanddo · pescanndo · pescanod · pesccando

Frequency comparison

pesado#4,736
pescando#41,540

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "pesado" and "pescando" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "pesado" is an adjective and "pescando" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "pesado" or "pescando"?
"pesado" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #4,736 in our Spanish list, against #41,540 for "pescando". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering pesado vs pescando

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

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