prestadavsprestarWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: prestada is a participle, prestar is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“prestada” is a participle and “prestar” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#19,846
“prestada” frequency rank
#5,550
“prestar” frequency rank
25396
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature prestada prestar
Definition Forma del femenino de prestado, participio de prestar o de prestarse. Entregar a uno dinero u otra cosa para que por algún tiempo tenga el uso de ella, con la obligación de restituir igual cantidad o la cosa misma.

Where the spellings diverge

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

8 ch
prestada
7 ch
prestar

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: prestada is [pɾesˈt̪að̞a] while prestar is [pɾesˈt̪aɾ]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (participle vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 25396, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

prestada is recorded at frequency rank #19,846, classified as aparticiple, pronounced [pɾesˈt̪að̞a]. prestar is at rank #5,550, tagged as averb, pronounced [pɾesˈt̪aɾ].

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 25396, this pair ranks #236,622 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of prestada vs prestar

Shared letters: aeprst. Private to "prestada": d. Private to "prestar": -.

"prestada" · 8 letters · shape CCVCCVCV  ·  "prestar" · 7 letters · shape CCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • prestadaperstada · pprestada · presatda · presstada · prestaad · prestadda · prestdaa · presttada
  • prestarperstar · pprestar · presatr · presstar · prestarr · prestra · presttar · pretsar

Frequency comparison

prestada#19,846
prestar#5,550

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "prestada" and "prestar" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "prestada" is a participle and "prestar" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "prestada" or "prestar"?
"prestar" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #5,550 in our Spanish list, against #19,846 for "prestada". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering prestada vs prestar

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

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