perder el tiempo
[peɾˈð̞eɾ el̪ ˈt̪jẽmpo]
The verdict
“perder el tiempo” is uncommon Spanish (outside the top frequency list), classed as a phrase. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency Spanish
- 16
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Malgastar o desperdiciar el tiempo en cosas o actividades inútiles o poco provechosas.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | perder el tiempo |
| Language | Spanish |
| Part of speech | Phrase |
| IPA | [peɾˈð̞eɾ el̪ ˈt̪jẽmpo] |
| Letters | 16 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “perder el tiempo” sits in Spanish frequency
Rare enough to double-check
perder el tiempo is uncommon Spanish outside the top frequency list, classed as aphrase, transcribed [peɾˈð̞eɾ el̪ ˈt̪jẽmpo]. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.
Our edit-distance generator produced no likely misspellings for perder el tiempo, which points to an orthography that plays by predictable Spanish rules. No close-neighbour confusable shows up for this headword in our dataset, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.
This entry's etymology isn't recorded, so its spelling is best explained by sound-to-letter mapping rather than etymology. The correct Spanish form is perder el tiempo, spelled P-E-R-D-E-R- -E-L- -T-I-E-M-P-O.
Definition
- 1Malgastar o desperdiciar el tiempo en cosas o actividades inútiles o poco provechosas.
- 2Esperar en vano algo que nunca se concretará o consumará.
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Using “perder el tiempo”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct Spanish spelling is P-E-R-D-E-R- -E-L- -T-I-E-M-P-O - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as [peɾˈð̞eɾ el̪ ˈt̪jẽmpo] (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Browse more Spanish words and confusable pairs in the same reference. Spanish words
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.