privadovsprobadoWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

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

#1,526
“privado” frequency rank
#4,642
“probado” frequency rank
6168
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature privado probado
Definition Propio de o restringido a la intimidad de una persona y su círculo. Participio de probar.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set privado and probado apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

7 ch
privado
7 ch
probado

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: privado is [pɾiˈβ̞að̞o] while probado is [pɾoˈβ̞að̞o]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 6168, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

privado is recorded at frequency rank #1,526, classified as anadj, pronounced [pɾiˈβ̞að̞o]. probado is at rank #4,642, tagged as averb, pronounced [pɾoˈβ̞að̞o].

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 6168, this pair ranks #311,563 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of privado vs probado

Shared letters: adopr. Private to "privado": iv. Private to "probado": b.

"privado" · 7 letters · shape CCVCVCV  ·  "probado" · 7 letters · shape CCVCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • privadopirvado · pprivado · priavdo · pribado · privaddo · privaod · privdao · privvado
  • probadoporbado · pprobado · prboado · proabdo · probaddo · probaod · probbado · probdao

Frequency comparison

privado#1,526
probado#4,642

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "privado" and "probado" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "privado" is an adjective and "probado" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "privado" or "probado"?
"privado" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,526 in our Spanish list, against #4,642 for "probado". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering privado vs probado

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need an adjective, it's “privado”; for a verb, it's “probado”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “privado” 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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list