radiactivovsradioactivoWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

“radiactivo” and “radioactivo” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#39,415
“radiactivo” frequency rank
#40,495
“radioactivo” frequency rank
79910
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature radiactivo radioactivo
Definition Se dice de los cuerpos que presentan radiactividad. Variante de radiactivo.

Where the eye mixes radiactivo and radioactivo

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 10 letters in sequence. radiactivo runs 10 letters (CVCVVCCVCV) against radioactivo's 11 (CVCVVVCCVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

10 ch
radiactivo
11 ch
radioactivo

Visual trap between radiactivo and radioactivo

A purely visual mix-up. radiactivo ([rað̞jakˈt̪iβ̞o]) and radioactivo ([rað̞joakˈt̪iβ̞o]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 79910, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

radiactivo is recorded at frequency rank #39,415, classified as anadj, pronounced [rað̞jakˈt̪iβ̞o]. radioactivo is at rank #40,495, tagged as anadj, pronounced [rað̞joakˈt̪iβ̞o].

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 79910, this pair ranks #12,360 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of radiactivo vs radioactivo

Shared letters: acdiortv. Private to "radiactivo": -. Private to "radioactivo": -.

"radiactivo" · 10 letters · shape CVCVVCCVCV  ·  "radioactivo" · 11 letters · shape CVCVVVCCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • radiactivo ← ardiactivo · radaictivo · raddiactivo · radiacctivo · radiacitvo · radiactibo · radiactiov · radiactivvo
  • radioactivo ← ardioactivo · raddioactivo · radiaoctivo · radioacctivo · radioacitvo · radioactibo · radioactiov · radioactivvo

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "radiactivo" and "radioactivo" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([rað̞jakˈt̪iβ̞o] versus [rað̞joakˈt̪iβ̞o]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "radiactivo" or "radioactivo"?
"radiactivo" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #39,415 in our Spanish list, against #40,495 for "radioactivo". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "radiactivo" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "radioactivo" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #12,360 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "radiactivo" and "radioactivo" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "radiactiva vs radioactivo". 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 #12,360 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list