trabajadovstrabajandoTell them apart

Which to use

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

#3,369
“trabajado” frequency rank
#1,072
“trabajando” frequency rank
4441
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature trabajado trabajando
Definition Participio de trabajar. Gerundio de trabajar.

Where the eye mixes trabajado and trabajando

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 9 letters in sequence. trabajado runs 9 letters (CCVCVCVCV) against trabajando's 10 (CCVCVCVCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

9 ch
trabajado
10 ch
trabajando

Why the eye confuses trabajado with trabajando

A purely visual mix-up. trabajado ([t̪ɾaβ̞aˈxað̞o]) and trabajando ([t̪ɾaβ̞aˈxãn̪d̪o]) 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 4441, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

trabajado is recorded at frequency rank #3,369, classified as averb, pronounced [t̪ɾaβ̞aˈxað̞o]. trabajando is at rank #1,072, tagged as averb, pronounced [t̪ɾaβ̞aˈxãn̪d̪o].

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 4441, this pair ranks #316,086 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of trabajado vs trabajando

Shared letters: abdjort. Private to "trabajado": -. Private to "trabajando": n.

"trabajado" · 9 letters · shape CCVCVCVCV  ·  "trabajando" · 10 letters · shape CCVCVCVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • trabajado ← rtabajado · tarbajado · traabjado · trabaajdo · trabajaddo · trabajaod · trabajdao · trabajjado
  • trabajando ← rtabajando · tarbajando · traabjando · trabaajndo · trabajadno · trabajanddo · trabajanndo · trabajanod

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "trabajado" and "trabajando" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([t̪ɾaβ̞aˈxað̞o] versus [t̪ɾaβ̞aˈxãn̪d̪o]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "trabajado" vs "trabajando" - which ranks higher?
"trabajando" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,072 in our Spanish list, against #3,369 for "trabajado". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "trabajado" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "trabajando" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #316,086 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "trabajado" and "trabajando" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "trabajado vs trabajados". 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 #316,086 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