Which to use
“preocupa” is a verb and “preocupada” is a participle - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #2,682
- “preocupa” frequency rank
- #9,019
- “preocupada” frequency rank
- 11701
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | preocupa | preocupada |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de preocupar o de preocuparse. | Forma del femenino de preocupado, participio de preocupar o de preocuparse. |
Where the eye mixes preocupa and preocupada
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. preocupa runs 8 letters (CCVVCVCV) against preocupada's 10 (CCVVCVCVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between preocupa and preocupada
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: preocupa is [pɾeoˈkupa] while preocupada is [pɾeokuˈpað̞a]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “preocupa” sits inside “preocupada”, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs participle), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 11701, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
preocupa is recorded at frequency rank #2,682, classified as averb, pronounced [pɾeoˈkupa]. preocupada is at rank #9,019, tagged as aparticiple, pronounced [pɾeokuˈpað̞a].
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 11701, this pair ranks #294,178 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of preocupa vs preocupada
Shared letters: aceopru. Private to "preocupa": -. Private to "preocupada": d.
"preocupa" · 8 letters · shape CCVVCVCV · "preocupada" · 10 letters · shape CCVVCVCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- preocupa ← perocupa · ppreocupa · precoupa · preoccupa · preocpua · preocuap · preocuppa · preoucpa
- preocupada ← perocupada · ppreocupada · precoupada · preoccupada · preocpuada · preocuapda · preocupaad · preocupadda
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "preocupa" for "preocupada" ever safe?
Frequency check: "preocupa" vs "preocupada" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "preocupa" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "preocupada" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #294,178 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "preocupa" and "preocupada" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "preocupaban vs preocupada". 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 #294,178 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.