Which to use
“respalda” is a verb and “respaldo” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #18,963
- “respalda” frequency rank
- #5,152
- “respaldo” frequency rank
- 24115
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | respalda | respaldo |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de respaldar. | La parte de un mueble que descansa la espalda |
Where the eye mixes respalda and respaldo
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. respalda and respaldo follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCCVCCV). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Visual trap between respalda and respaldo
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: respalda is [resˈpal̪d̪a] while respaldo is [resˈpal̪d̪o]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - a in “respalda” becomes o in “respaldo”, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 24115, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
respalda is recorded at frequency rank #18,963, classified as averb, pronounced [resˈpal̪d̪a]. respaldo is at rank #5,152, tagged as anoun, pronounced [resˈpal̪d̪o].
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 24115, this pair ranks #242,639 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of respalda vs respaldo
Shared letters: adelprs. Private to "respalda": -. Private to "respaldo": o.
"respalda" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCCV · "respaldo" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "respalda" and "respaldo" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "respalda" vs "respaldo" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "respalda" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "respaldo" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #242,639 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "respalda" and "respaldo" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "respalda vs respaldos". 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 #242,639 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.