preparadovspreparadosWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: preparado is a noun, preparados is a participle, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“preparado” is a noun and “preparados” is a participle - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#2,798
“preparado” frequency rank
#4,742
“preparados” frequency rank
7540
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature preparado preparados
Definition Medicamento dispuesto según dosis y presentación adecuadas para su utilización. Forma del plural de preparado, participio de preparar o de prepararse.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set preparado and preparados apart are highlighted. They share 9 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

9 ch
preparado
10 ch
preparados

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: preparado is [pɾepaˈɾað̞o] while preparados is [pɾepaˈɾað̞os]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “preparado” sits inside “preparados”, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs participle), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 7540, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

preparado is recorded at frequency rank #2,798, classified as anoun, pronounced [pɾepaˈɾað̞o]. preparados is at rank #4,742, tagged as aparticiple, pronounced [pɾepaˈɾað̞os].

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 7540, this pair ranks #307,707 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of preparado vs preparados

Shared letters: adeopr. Private to "preparado": -. Private to "preparados": s.

"preparado" · 9 letters · shape CCVCVCVCV  ·  "preparados" · 10 letters · shape CCVCVCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • preparadoperparado · ppreparado · preaprado · prepaardo · preparaddo · preparaod · prepardao · preparrado
  • preparadosperparados · ppreparados · preaprados · prepaardos · preparaddos · preparadoss · preparadso · preparaods

Frequency comparison

preparado#2,798
preparados#4,742

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "preparado" and "preparados" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "preparado" is a noun and "preparados" a participle, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "preparado" or "preparados"?
"preparado" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,798 in our Spanish list, against #4,742 for "preparados". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering preparado vs preparados

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

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