tapadovstaparWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: tapado is a adjective, tapar is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“tapado” is an adjective and “tapar” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#40,353
“tapado” frequency rank
#21,021
“tapar” frequency rank
61374
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature tapado tapar
Definition tampado; que está coberto abrigar(-se), cobrir(-se), resguardar(-se)

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set tapado and tapar apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
tapado
5 ch
tapar

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: tapado is /tɐ.ˈpa.du/ while tapar is /tɐ.ˈpaɾ/. 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 verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 61374, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

tapado is recorded at frequency rank #40,353, classified as anadj, pronounced /tɐ.ˈpa.du/. tapar is at rank #21,021, tagged as averb, pronounced /tɐ.ˈpaɾ/.

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 61374, this pair ranks #7,171 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of tapado vs tapar

Shared letters: apt. Private to "tapado": do. Private to "tapar": r.

"tapado" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV  ·  "tapar" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • tapadoatpado · taapdo · tapaddo · tapaod · tapdao · tappado · tpaado · ttapado
  • taparatpar · taapr · taparr · tappar · tapra · tpaar · ttapar

Frequency comparison

tapado#40,353
tapar#21,021

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "tapado" and "tapar" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "tapado" is an adjective and "tapar" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "tapado" or "tapar"?
"tapar" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #21,021 in our Portuguese list, against #40,353 for "tapado". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering tapado vs tapar

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need an adjective, it's “tapado”; for a verb, it's “tapar”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “tapado” 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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list