Which to use
“tardan” is a verb and “tardías” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #14,972
- “tardan” frequency rank
- #45,038
- “tardías” frequency rank
- 60010
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | tardan | tardías |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de tardar. | Forma del femenino plural de tardío. |
Where the eye mixes tardan and tardías
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. tardan runs 6 letters (CVCCVC) against tardías's 7 (CVCCVVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses tardan with tardías
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: tardan is [ˈt̪aɾð̞ãn] while tardías is [t̪aɾˈð̞ias]. 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 (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 60010, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
tardan is recorded at frequency rank #14,972, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈt̪aɾð̞ãn]. tardías is at rank #45,038, tagged as anadj, pronounced [t̪aɾˈð̞ias].
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 60010, this pair ranks #60,473 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of tardan vs tardías
Shared letters: adrt. Private to "tardan": n. Private to "tardías": sí.
"tardan" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "tardías" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- tardan ← atrdan · tadran · taradn · tardann · tarddan · tardna · tarrdan · tradan
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "tardan" and "tardías" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "tardan" vs "tardías" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "tardan" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "tardías" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #60,473 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "tardan" and "tardías" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "tardías vs tardíos". Nearby pair
- Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes
Confusion rank #60,473 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.