Which to use
“reserva” is a noun and “reservada” is a participle - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #2,422
- “reserva” frequency rank
- #14,696
- “reservada” frequency rank
- 17118
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | reserva | reservada |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Guarda o custodia que se hace de una cosa, o prevención de ella para que sirva a su tiempo. | Forma del femenino de reservado, participio de reservar. |
Where the eye mixes reserva and reservada
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. reserva runs 7 letters (CVCVCCV) against reservada's 9 (CVCVCCVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between reserva and reservada
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: reserva is [reˈseɾβ̞a] while reservada is [reseɾˈβ̞að̞a]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “reserva” sits inside “reservada”, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs participle), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 17118, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
reserva is recorded at frequency rank #2,422, classified as anoun, pronounced [reˈseɾβ̞a]. reservada is at rank #14,696, tagged as aparticiple, pronounced [reseɾˈβ̞að̞a].
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 17118, this pair ranks #273,475 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of reserva vs reservada
Shared letters: aersv. Private to "reserva": -. Private to "reservada": d.
"reserva" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCCV · "reservada" · 9 letters · shape CVCVCCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "reserva" for "reservada" ever safe?
In ordinary Spanish text, does "reserva" or "reservada" show up more?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "reserva" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "reservada" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #273,475 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "reserva" and "reservada" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "reservada vs reservan". 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 #273,475 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.