Which to use
“quebrado” is an adjective and “quebrando” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #18,059
- “quebrado” frequency rank
- #49,225
- “quebrando” frequency rank
- 67284
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | quebrado | quebrando |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Que ha entrado en bancarrota o quiebra. | Gerundio de quebrar. |
Where the eye mixes quebrado and quebrando
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. quebrado runs 8 letters (CVVCCVCV) against quebrando's 9 (CVVCCVCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: quebrado vs quebrando
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: quebrado is [keˈβ̞ɾað̞o] while quebrando is [keˈβ̞ɾãn̪d̪o]. 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 (adjective vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 67284, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
quebrado is recorded at frequency rank #18,059, classified as anadj, pronounced [keˈβ̞ɾað̞o]. quebrando is at rank #49,225, tagged as averb, pronounced [keˈβ̞ɾãn̪d̪o].
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 67284, this pair ranks #37,550 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of quebrado vs quebrando
Shared letters: abdeoqru. Private to "quebrado": -. Private to "quebrando": n.
"quebrado" · 8 letters · shape CVVCCVCV · "quebrando" · 9 letters · shape CVVCCVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "quebrado" and "quebrando" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary Spanish text, does "quebrado" or "quebrando" show up more?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "quebrado" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "quebrando" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #37,550 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "quebrado" and "quebrando" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "quebrando vs quebrantado". 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 #37,550 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.