utilizadavsutilizanConfusable pair

Quick tell: utilizada is a participle, utilizan is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“utilizada” is a participle and “utilizan” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#4,387
“utilizada” frequency rank
#2,809
“utilizan” frequency rank
7196
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature utilizada utilizan
Definition Forma del femenino de utilizado, participio de utilizar. Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de utilizar.

Where the eye mixes utilizada and utilizan

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

9 ch
utilizada
8 ch
utilizan

Visual trap between utilizada and utilizan

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: utilizada is [ut̪iliˈsað̞a] while utilizan is [ut̪iˈlisãn]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (participle vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 7196, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

utilizada is recorded at frequency rank #4,387, classified as aparticiple, pronounced [ut̪iliˈsað̞a]. utilizan is at rank #2,809, tagged as averb, pronounced [ut̪iˈlisãn].

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 7196, this pair ranks #308,682 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of utilizada vs utilizan

Shared letters: ailtuz. Private to "utilizada": d. Private to "utilizan": n.

"utilizada" · 9 letters · shape VCVCVCVCV  ·  "utilizan" · 8 letters · shape VCVCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • utilizada ← tuilizada · uitlizada · utiilzada · utiliazda · utilizaad · utilizadda · utilizdaa · utilizzada
  • utilizan ← tuilizan · uitlizan · utiilzan · utiliazn · utilizann · utilizna · utilizzan · utillizan

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "utilizada" and "utilizan" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "utilizada" is a participle and "utilizan" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "utilizada" or "utilizan"?
"utilizan" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,809 in our Spanish list, against #4,387 for "utilizada". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "utilizada" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "utilizan" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #308,682 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "utilizada" and "utilizan" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "utilizada vs utilizaría". 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 #308,682 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