tímidavstomadaWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

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

#16,724
“tímida” frequency rank
#5,785
“tomada” frequency rank
22509
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature tímida tomada
Definition Forma del femenino de tímido. Forma del femenino de tomado, participio de tomar.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set tímida and tomada apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
tímida
6 ch
tomada

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: tímida is [ˈt̪imið̞a] while tomada is [t̪oˈmað̞a]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs participle), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 22509, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

tímida is recorded at frequency rank #16,724, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈt̪imið̞a]. tomada is at rank #5,785, tagged as aparticiple, pronounced [t̪oˈmað̞a].

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 22509, this pair ranks #250,013 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of tímida vs tomada

Shared letters: admt. Private to "tímida": . Private to "tomada": o.

"tímida" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV  ·  "tomada" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • tomadaotmada · tmoada · toamda · tomaad · tomadda · tomdaa · tommada · ttomada

Frequency comparison

tímida#16,724
tomada#5,785

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "tímida" and "tomada" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "tímida" is an adjective and "tomada" a participle, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "tímida" or "tomada"?
"tomada" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #5,785 in our Spanish list, against #16,724 for "tímida". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering tímida vs tomada

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

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