rayadovsregadoWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: rayado is a adjective, regado is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“rayado” is an adjective and “regado” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#25,017
“rayado” frequency rank
#49,894
“regado” frequency rank
74911
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature rayado regado
Definition Cubierto de líneas o rayas. Participio de regar o de regarse.

Where the spellings diverge

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

6 ch
rayado
6 ch
regado

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: rayado is [raˈʝað̞o] while regado is [reˈɣ̞að̞o]. 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 verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 74911, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

rayado is recorded at frequency rank #25,017, classified as anadj, pronounced [raˈʝað̞o]. regado is at rank #49,894, tagged as averb, pronounced [reˈɣ̞að̞o].

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 74911, this pair ranks #20,516 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of rayado vs regado

Shared letters: ador. Private to "rayado": y. Private to "regado": eg.

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

Known mistypes of this pair

  • rayadoaryado · raaydo · rayaddo · rayaod · raydao · rayyado · rrayado · ryaado
  • regadoergado · reagdo · regaddo · regaod · regdao · reggado · rgeado · rregado

Frequency comparison

rayado#25,017
regado#49,894

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "rayado" and "regado" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "rayado" is an adjective and "regado" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "rayado" or "regado"?
"rayado" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #25,017 in our Spanish list, against #49,894 for "regado". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering rayado vs regado

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need an adjective, it's “rayado”; for a verb, it's “regado”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “rayado” 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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list