significadovssignificanWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: significado is a noun, significan is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“significado” is a noun and “significan” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#2,320
“significado” frequency rank
#9,038
“significan” frequency rank
11358
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature significado significan
Definition Lo que significa algo, lo que quiere decir una palabra, una idea, concepto, etc. Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de significar.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set significado and significan apart are highlighted. They share 9 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

11 ch
significado
10 ch
significan

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

significado and significan form a confusable pair in the Spanish index, two distinct headwords that are easily confused because they look alike, sound alike, or both. They differ by 1 letter(s) in length - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 11358, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

significado is recorded at frequency rank #2,320, classified as anoun, pronounced [siɣ̞nifiˈkað̞o]. significan is at rank #9,038, tagged as averb, pronounced [siɣ̞niˈfikãn].

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 11358, this pair ranks #295,394 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Frequency comparison

significado#2,320
significan#9,038

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "significado" and "significan" be used interchangeably?
No, "significado" and "significan" have distinct meanings and cannot be swapped without changing the meaning of a sentence. Understanding the specific definition and context for each word is essential for correct usage.

Remembering significado vs significan

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

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