sórdidovssurtidoWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: sórdido is a adjective, surtido is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“sórdido” is an adjective and “surtido” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#48,104
“sórdido” frequency rank
#26,633
“surtido” frequency rank
74737
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature sórdido surtido
Definition Que presenta manchas o suciedad. Participio de surtir.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set sórdido and surtido apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

7 ch
sórdido
7 ch
surtido

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

sórdido and surtido form a confusable pair in the Spanish index, two distinct headwords that are easily confused because they look alike, sound alike, or both. They share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 74737, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

sórdido is recorded at frequency rank #48,104, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈsoɾð̞ið̞o]. surtido is at rank #26,633, tagged as averb, pronounced [suɾˈt̪ið̞o].

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 74737, this pair ranks #20,786 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Frequency comparison

sórdido#48,104
surtido#26,633

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "sórdido" and "surtido" be used interchangeably?
No, "sórdido" and "surtido" 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 sórdido vs surtido

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

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