utilizavsutilizadoTell them apart

Which to use

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

#1,966
“utiliza” frequency rank
#2,584
“utilizado” frequency rank
4550
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature utiliza utilizado
Definition Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de utilizar. Participio de utilizar.

Where the eye mixes utiliza and utilizado

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

7 ch
utiliza
9 ch
utilizado

Look-alike desk: utiliza vs utilizado

A purely visual mix-up. utiliza ([ut̪iˈlisa]) and utilizado ([ut̪iliˈsað̞o]) 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 2 extra letter(s) - “utiliza” sits inside “utilizado”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 4550, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

utiliza is recorded at frequency rank #1,966, classified as averb, pronounced [ut̪iˈlisa]. utilizado is at rank #2,584, tagged as averb, pronounced [ut̪iliˈsað̞o].

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 4550, this pair ranks #315,828 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of utiliza vs utilizado

Shared letters: ailtuz. Private to "utiliza": -. Private to "utilizado": do.

"utiliza" · 7 letters · shape VCVCVCV  ·  "utilizado" · 9 letters · shape VCVCVCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • utiliza ← tuiliza · uitliza · utiilza · utiliaz · utilizza · utilliza · utilzia · utliiza
  • utilizado ← tuilizado · uitlizado · utiilzado · utiliazdo · utilizaddo · utilizaod · utilizdao · utilizzado

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "utiliza" and "utilizado" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ut̪iˈlisa] versus [ut̪iliˈsað̞o]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary Spanish text, does "utiliza" or "utilizado" show up more?
"utiliza" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,966 in our Spanish list, against #2,584 for "utilizado". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Eye-level mix-up between "utiliza" and "utilizado" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "utiliza" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "utilizado" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #315,828 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "utiliza" and "utilizado" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "utilicé vs utiliza". 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 #315,828 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