tímidovstomadoWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

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

#15,749
“tímido” frequency rank
#1,965
“tomado” frequency rank
17714
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature tímido tomado
Definition Que reacciona de forma insegura y con vergüenza ante el contacto o la presencia de otros, que siente timidez. Participio de tomar.

Where the spellings diverge

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

6 ch
tímido
6 ch
tomado

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: tímido is [ˈt̪imið̞o] while tomado is [t̪oˈmað̞o]. 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 verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 17714, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

tímido is recorded at frequency rank #15,749, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈt̪imið̞o]. tomado is at rank #1,965, tagged as averb, pronounced [t̪oˈmað̞o].

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 17714, this pair ranks #271,009 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of tímido vs tomado

Shared letters: dmot. Private to "tímido": . Private to "tomado": a.

"tímido" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV  ·  "tomado" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • tomadootmado · tmoado · toamdo · tomaddo · tomaod · tomdao · tommado · ttomado

Frequency comparison

tímido#15,749
tomado#1,965

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "tímido" and "tomado" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "tímido" is an adjective and "tomado" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "tímido" or "tomado"?
"tomado" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,965 in our Spanish list, against #15,749 for "tímido". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering tímido vs tomado

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

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