subordinadovssubordinadosWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: subordinado is a adjective, subordinados is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“subordinado” is an adjective and “subordinados” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#25,054
“subordinado” frequency rank
#19,886
“subordinados” frequency rank
44940
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature subordinado subordinados
Definition Persona con una posición laboral o jerarquía más baja que otra persona, de la cual recibe órdenes. Forma del plural de subordinado.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set subordinado and subordinados apart are highlighted. They share 11 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

11 ch
subordinado
12 ch
subordinados

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: subordinado is [suβ̞oɾð̞iˈnað̞o] while subordinados is [suβ̞oɾð̞iˈnað̞os]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “subordinado” sits inside “subordinados”, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 44940, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

subordinado is recorded at frequency rank #25,054, classified as anadj, pronounced [suβ̞oɾð̞iˈnað̞o]. subordinados is at rank #19,886, tagged as anoun, pronounced [suβ̞oɾð̞iˈnað̞os].

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 44940, this pair ranks #134,228 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of subordinado vs subordinados

Shared letters: abdinorsu. Private to "subordinado": -. Private to "subordinados": -.

"subordinado" · 11 letters · shape CVCVCCVCVCV  ·  "subordinados" · 12 letters · shape CVCVCCVCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • subordinadosbuordinado · ssubordinado · subbordinado · subodrinado · suborddinado · subordiando · subordinaddo · subordinaod
  • subordinadossbuordinados · ssubordinados · subbordinados · subodrinados · suborddinados · subordiandos · subordinaddos · subordinadoss

Frequency comparison

subordinado#25,054
subordinados#19,886

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "subordinado" and "subordinados" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "subordinado" is an adjective and "subordinados" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "subordinado" or "subordinados"?
"subordinados" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #19,886 in our Spanish list, against #25,054 for "subordinado". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering subordinado vs subordinados

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

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