saltabavssaltadoConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#32,869
“saltaba” frequency rank
#21,486
“saltado” frequency rank
54355
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature saltaba saltado
Definition Primera persona del singular (yo) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de saltar. Participio de saltar.

Where the eye mixes saltaba and saltado

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. saltaba and saltado follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCCVCV). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.

7 ch
saltaba
7 ch
saltado

Why the eye confuses saltaba with saltado

A purely visual mix-up. saltaba ([sal̪ˈt̪aβ̞a]) and saltado ([sal̪ˈt̪að̞o]) 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 54355, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

saltaba is recorded at frequency rank #32,869, classified as averb, pronounced [sal̪ˈt̪aβ̞a]. saltado is at rank #21,486, tagged as averb, pronounced [sal̪ˈt̪að̞o].

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 54355, this pair ranks #83,711 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of saltaba vs saltado

Shared letters: alst. Private to "saltaba": b. Private to "saltado": do.

"saltaba" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCV  ·  "saltado" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • saltaba ← asltaba · salatba · salltaba · saltaab · saltabba · saltava · saltbaa · salttaba
  • saltado ← asltado · salatdo · salltado · saltaddo · saltaod · saltdao · salttado · satlado

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "saltaba" and "saltado" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([sal̪ˈt̪aβ̞a] versus [sal̪ˈt̪að̞o]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "saltaba" or "saltado"?
"saltado" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #21,486 in our Spanish list, against #32,869 for "saltaba". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Eye-level mix-up between "saltaba" and "saltado" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "saltaba" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "saltado" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #83,711 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "saltaba" and "saltado" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "saltaba vs soltaba". 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 #83,711 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