señaladavsseñalarWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: señalada is a participle, señalar is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“señalada” is a participle and “señalar” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#23,598
“señalada” frequency rank
#4,552
“señalar” frequency rank
28150
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature señalada señalar
Definition Forma del femenino de señalado, participio de señalar. Poner alguna señal o marca en alguna cosa.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set señalada and señalar apart are highlighted. They share 6 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

8 ch
señalada
7 ch
señalar

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: señalada is [seɲaˈlað̞a] while señalar is [seɲaˈlaɾ]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (participle vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 28150, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

señalada is recorded at frequency rank #23,598, classified as aparticiple, pronounced [seɲaˈlað̞a]. señalar is at rank #4,552, tagged as averb, pronounced [seɲaˈlaɾ].

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 28150, this pair ranks #223,381 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of señalada vs señalar

Shared letters: aelsñ. Private to "señalada": d. Private to "señalar": r.

"señalada" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCVCV  ·  "señalar" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC

Frequency comparison

señalada#23,598
señalar#4,552

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "señalada" and "señalar" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "señalada" is a participle and "señalar" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "señalada" or "señalar"?
"señalar" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #4,552 in our Spanish list, against #23,598 for "señalada". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering señalada vs señalar

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a participle, it's “señalada”; for a verb, it's “señalar”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “señalada” 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