tapadovstapadosWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: tapado is a adjective, tapados is a participle, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“tapado” is an adjective and “tapados” is a participle - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#21,509
“tapado” frequency rank
#39,477
“tapados” frequency rank
60986
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature tapado tapados
Definition Cubierto, oculto, generalmente por algún objeto. Forma del plural de tapado, participio de tapar o de taparse.

Where the spellings diverge

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

6 ch
tapado
7 ch
tapados

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: tapado is [t̪aˈpað̞o] while tapados is [t̪aˈpað̞os]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “tapado” sits inside “tapados”, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs participle), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 60986, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

tapado is recorded at frequency rank #21,509, classified as anadj, pronounced [t̪aˈpað̞o]. tapados is at rank #39,477, tagged as aparticiple, pronounced [t̪aˈpað̞os].

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 60986, this pair ranks #57,015 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of tapado vs tapados

Shared letters: adopt. Private to "tapado": -. Private to "tapados": s.

"tapado" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV  ·  "tapados" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • tapadoatpado · taapdo · tapaddo · tapaod · tapdao · tappado · tpaado · ttapado
  • tapadosatpados · taapdos · tapaddos · tapadoss · tapadso · tapaods · tapdaos · tappados

Frequency comparison

tapado#21,509
tapados#39,477

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "tapado" and "tapados" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "tapado" is an adjective and "tapados" a participle, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "tapado" or "tapados"?
"tapado" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #21,509 in our Spanish list, against #39,477 for "tapados". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering tapado vs tapados

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

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