usadavsusinaWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: usada is a participle, usina is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“usada” is a participle and “usina” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#5,268
“usada” frequency rank
#44,500
“usina” frequency rank
49768
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature usada usina
Definition Forma del femenino de usado, participio de usar o de usarse. Recinto industrial de grandes dimensiones cuya producción se relaciona principalmente con la generación de energía eléctrica.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set usada and usina apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
usada
5 ch
usina

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: usada is [uˈsað̞a] while usina is [uˈsina]. 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 (participle vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 49768, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

usada is recorded at frequency rank #5,268, classified as aparticiple, pronounced [uˈsað̞a]. usina is at rank #44,500, tagged as anoun, pronounced [uˈsina].

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 49768, this pair ranks #106,926 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of usada vs usina

Shared letters: asu. Private to "usada": d. Private to "usina": in.

"usada" · 5 letters · shape VCVCV  ·  "usina" · 5 letters · shape VCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • usadasuada · uasda · usaad · usadda · usdaa · ussada
  • usinasuina · ucina · uisna · usinna · usnia · ussina

Frequency comparison

usada#5,268
usina#44,500

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "usada" and "usina" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "usada" is a participle and "usina" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "usada" or "usina"?
"usada" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #5,268 in our Spanish list, against #44,500 for "usina". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering usada vs usina

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

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