respaldavsrespondaConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#18,963
“respalda” frequency rank
#9,722
“responda” frequency rank
28685
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature respalda responda
Definition Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de respaldar. Primera persona del singular (yo) del presente de subjuntivo de responder.

Where the eye mixes respalda and responda

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence.

8 ch
respalda
8 ch
responda

Look-alike desk: respalda vs responda

A purely visual mix-up. respalda ([resˈpal̪d̪a]) and responda ([resˈpõn̪d̪a]) 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 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 28685, 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]. responda is at rank #9,722, tagged as averb, pronounced [resˈpõn̪d̪a].

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 28685, this pair ranks #220,797 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of respalda vs responda

Shared letters: adeprs. Private to "respalda": l. Private to "responda": no.

"respalda" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCCV  ·  "responda" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • respaldaerspalda · repsalda · resaplda · respadla · respalad · respaldda · respallda · resplada
  • respondaersponda · repsonda · resopnda · respnoda · respodna · responad · respondda · responnda

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "respalda" and "responda" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([resˈpal̪d̪a] versus [resˈpõn̪d̪a]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "respalda" or "responda"?
"responda" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #9,722 in our Spanish list, against #18,963 for "respalda". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

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 "responda" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #220,797 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "respalda" and "responda" 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 #220,797 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