voladovsvolandoWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: volado is a adjective, volando is an adverb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“volado” is an adjective and “volando” is an adverb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#24,696
“volado” frequency rank
#7,091
“volando” frequency rank
31787
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature volado volando
Definition Se dice de la persona que no está en plena posesión de sus facultades por encontrarse bajo los efectos de una droga. Habitualmente se refiere a alucinógenos como la marihuana. Con mucha velocidad o prisa.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set volado and volando apart are highlighted. They share 6 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
volado
7 ch
volando

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: volado is [boˈlað̞o] while volando is [boˈlãn̪d̪o]. 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 (adjective vs adverb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 31787, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

volado is recorded at frequency rank #24,696, classified as anadj, pronounced [boˈlað̞o]. volando is at rank #7,091, tagged as anadv, pronounced [boˈlãn̪d̪o].

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 31787, this pair ranks #205,317 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of volado vs volando

Shared letters: adlov. Private to "volado": -. Private to "volando": n.

"volado" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV  ·  "volando" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • voladobolado · ovlado · vloado · voaldo · voladdo · volaod · voldao · vollado
  • volandobolando · ovlando · vloando · voalndo · voladno · volanddo · volanndo · volanod

Frequency comparison

volado#24,696
volando#7,091

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "volado" and "volando" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "volado" is an adjective and "volando" an adverb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "volado" or "volando"?
"volando" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #7,091 in our Spanish list, against #24,696 for "volado". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering volado vs volando

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need an adjective, it's “volado”; for an adverb, it's “volando”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “volado” 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