empeñar
[ẽmpeˈɲaɾ]
The verdict
“empeñar” is uncommon Spanish (frequency #58,471 among 101,141 “E” headwords), classed as a verb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- #58,471
- frequency rank, Spanish
- 101,141
- “E” headwords
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Dejar un objeto de valor a un prestamista o empeñador a cambio de un préstamo y mientras dure el mismo.
Corpus desk
Index ES-empenar · empeñar · Spanish
empeñar · rank #58,471 · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-RARE #58,471
- LEN-LONG 7 letters
- VOW-3 3 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-DENSE 101,141
- PHOTO-FINISH empadronados
Nearest frequency peer: empadronados (-1 rank slots)
Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.
Frequency neighbourhood for “empeñar”
Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)
- embaraza
embaraza
41,533 corpus weight
- emborracha
emborracha
41,532 corpus weight
- empadronados
empadronados
41,531 corpus weight
- empeñar
empeñar
41,530 corpus weight
- emuladores
emuladores
41,529 corpus weight
- enamores
enamores
41,528 corpus weight
What this shows Bars show where “empeñar” sits against the nearest ranked Spanish headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | empeñar |
| Language | Spanish |
| Part of speech | Verb |
| IPA | [ẽmpeˈɲaɾ] |
| Letters | 7 |
| Frequency rank | #58,471 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “empeñar” sits in Spanish frequency
Rare enough to double-check
empeñar is uncommon Spanish at frequency #58,471 among 101,141 “E” headwords, classed as averb, transcribed [ẽmpeˈɲaɾ]. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 4 senses are on record.
Zero misspellings are on record for empeñar in our index, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. This headword has no recorded confusable partner, since its spelling is unusual enough that it doesn't cluster with a lookalike.
This entry's etymology isn't recorded, so any spelling logic here comes from how the word's sounds map to letters, not a documented origin story. The correct Spanish form is empeñar, spelled E-M-P-E-Ñ-A-R.
Definition
- 1Dejar un objeto de valor a un prestamista o empeñador a cambio de un préstamo y mientras dure el mismo.
- 2Emplear o utilizar de algo para conseguir otro fin.
- 3Poner a uno por empeño o medianero para conseguir alguna cosa.
- 4Obligar a alguien a hacer algo.
Synonyms
Antonyms
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 Spanish corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
PlainSpell is rendered directly from structured Wiktionary extracts and open word-frequency lists, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of May 6, 2026. Primary sources: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) and FrequencyWords.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Similar Spanish words by spelling shape
Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "empeñar", not the corpus desk frequency band.
Same letter count
Frequency-ranked Spanish headwords with 7 letters (nearest by frequency rank).
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.