torturadovstorturarTell them apart

Which to use

“torturado” and “torturar” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#19,892
“torturado” frequency rank
#22,884
“torturar” frequency rank
42776
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature torturado torturar
Definition Participio de torturar. Hacer o provocar una tortura a alguien.

Where the eye mixes torturado and torturar

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. torturado runs 9 letters (CVCCVCVCV) against torturar's 8 (CVCCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

9 ch
torturado
8 ch
torturar

Visual trap between torturado and torturar

A purely visual mix-up. torturado ([t̪oɾt̪uˈɾað̞o]) and torturar ([t̪oɾt̪uˈɾaɾ]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 42776, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

torturado is recorded at frequency rank #19,892, classified as averb, pronounced [t̪oɾt̪uˈɾað̞o]. torturar is at rank #22,884, tagged as averb, pronounced [t̪oɾt̪uˈɾaɾ].

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 42776, this pair ranks #146,356 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of torturado vs torturar

Shared letters: aortu. Private to "torturado": d. Private to "torturar": -.

"torturado" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCVCV  ·  "torturar" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • torturado ← otrturado · torrturado · tortruado · tortturado · tortuardo · torturaddo · torturaod · torturdao
  • torturar ← otrturar · torrturar · tortruar · tortturar · tortuarr · torturarr · torturrar · torutrar

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "torturado" and "torturar" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([t̪oɾt̪uˈɾað̞o] versus [t̪oɾt̪uˈɾaɾ]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary Spanish text, does "torturado" or "torturar" show up more?
"torturado" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #19,892 in our Spanish list, against #22,884 for "torturar". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "torturado" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "torturar" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #146,356 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "torturado" and "torturar" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "torturan vs torturar". 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 #146,356 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list