rápidovsrayadoWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#881
“rápido” frequency rank
#25,017
“rayado” frequency rank
25898
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature rápido rayado
Definition Que se mueve a gran velocidad o rapidez. Cubierto de líneas o rayas.

Where the eye mixes rápido and rayado

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. rápido (CVCVCV) and rayado (CVVVCV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.

6 ch
rápido
6 ch
rayado

Look-alike desk: rápido vs rayado

A purely visual mix-up. rápido ([ˈrapið̞o]) and rayado ([raˈʝað̞o]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 3 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 25898, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

rápido is recorded at frequency rank #881, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈrapið̞o]. rayado is at rank #25,017, tagged as anadj, pronounced [raˈʝað̞o].

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 25898, this pair ranks #234,279 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of rápido vs rayado

Shared letters: dor. Private to "rápido": ipá. Private to "rayado": ay.

"rápido" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV  ·  "rayado" · 6 letters · shape CVVVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • rayado ← aryado · raaydo · rayaddo · rayaod · raydao · rayyado · rrayado · ryaado

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "rápido" and "rayado" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈrapið̞o] versus [raˈʝað̞o]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "rápido" or "rayado"?
"rápido" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #881 in our Spanish list, against #25,017 for "rayado". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

What to do next

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "rápido" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "rayado" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #234,279 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "rápido" and "rayado" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "rayado vs regado". 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 #234,279 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