Which to use
“quebrada” is a noun and “quebrado” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #12,041
- “quebrada” frequency rank
- #18,059
- “quebrado” frequency rank
- 30100
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | quebrada | quebrado |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Hondonada profunda sobre una montaña, de paredes abruptas, excavada por las aguas en el transcurso del tiempo o por acción tectónica, por cuyo fondo corre un riachuelo o arroyo al menos durante una parte del año. | Que ha entrado en bancarrota o quiebra. |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set quebrada and quebrado apart are highlighted. They share 7 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
quebrada and quebrado form a confusable pair in the Spanish index, two distinct headwords that are easily confused because they look alike, sound alike, or both. They differ by a single letter - a in “quebrada” becomes o in “quebrado” - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 30100, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
quebrada is recorded at frequency rank #12,041, classified as anoun, pronounced [keˈβ̞ɾað̞a]. quebrado is at rank #18,059, tagged as anadj, pronounced [keˈβ̞ɾað̞o].
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 30100, this pair ranks #213,677 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "quebrada" and "quebrado" be used interchangeably?
Remembering quebrada vs quebrado
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “quebrada”; for an adjective, it's “quebrado”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “quebrada” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable