rápidavsreñidaWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: rápida is a adjective, reñida is a participle, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“rápida” is an adjective and “reñida” is a participle - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#2,578
“rápida” frequency rank
#40,522
“reñida” frequency rank
43100
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature rápida reñida
Definition Forma del femenino singular de rápido. Forma del femenino de reñido, participio de reñir.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set rápida and reñida apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
rápida
6 ch
reñida

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: rápida is [ˈrapið̞a] while reñida is [reˈɲið̞a]. 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 participle), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 43100, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

rápida is recorded at frequency rank #2,578, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈrapið̞a]. reñida is at rank #40,522, tagged as aparticiple, pronounced [reˈɲið̞a].

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 43100, this pair ranks #144,517 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of rápida vs reñida

Shared letters: adir. Private to "rápida": . Private to "reñida": .

"rápida" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV  ·  "reñida" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV

Frequency comparison

rápida#2,578
reñida#40,522

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "rápida" and "reñida" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "rápida" is an adjective and "reñida" a participle, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "rápida" or "reñida"?
"rápida" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,578 in our Spanish list, against #40,522 for "reñida". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering rápida vs reñida

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

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