pretender

[pɾet̪ẽn̪ˈd̪eɾ]

/[pɾet̪ẽn̪ˈd̪eɾ]/ verb

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

The verdict

“pretender” has 14 generated spelling variants in the Spanish index at frequency #9,023. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#9,023
frequency rank, Spanish
6,028
“P” headwords
14
tracked misspellings
10
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Hacer diligencias o esfuerzos para conseguir lo que se desea.

Corpus desk

Index ES-pretender · pretender · Spanish

pretender · rank #9,023 · 14 variants · 10 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #9,023
  • LEN-LONG 9 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 10 pairs
  • VAR-HIGH 14 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 6,028
  • PHOTO-FINISH prestación

Nearest frequency peer: prestación (-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.

Pares de rango junto al imán ortográfico “pretender”

Misma franja de rareza: útil si un typo cae en un lema vecino

corpus weight

What this shows “pretender” está entre estos pares FrequencyWords; la profundidad de typo se mide aparte en el gráfico de distancia de edición.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

pretender vs pretendo
78% similar
pretender vs pretendía
78% similar
pretender vs pretendes
89% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for pretender
PropertyValue
Headwordpretender
LanguageSpanish
Part of speechVerb
IPA[pɾet̪ẽn̪ˈd̪eɾ]
Letters9
Frequency rank#9,023
Misspellings tracked14
Confusable pairs10
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frecuencia del imán ortográfico “pretender”

La frecuencia va del puñado de palabras que usamos sin parar (izquierda) a la cola larga que apenas aparece (derecha).pretendercae aquí:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Los ticks avanzan en logaritmo; cada uno es del orden de diez veces más raro. En la misma franja de rareza aparecen “prestación” (#9,022), “procurador” (#9,024), “presentaba” (#9,021). Entre 6,028 lemas con “P”, “pretender” va en #9,023. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 14 spelling variants around pretender (IPA [pɾet̪ẽn̪ˈd̪eɾ]), averb. Corpus frequency is #9,023 among 6,028 “P” headwords. Wiktionary lists 4 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 14 likely wrong-spelling variants for pretender, with forms such as "pertender", "ppretender", and "preetnder". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 10 confusable-pair relationships, "pretendo", "pretendía", "pretendes", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

This headword's origin isn't recorded in our source data, so its spelling is best explained by sound-to-letter mapping rather than etymology. The correct Spanish form is pretender, spelled P-R-E-T-E-N-D-E-R.

Definition

  1. 1
    Hacer diligencias o esfuerzos para conseguir lo que se desea.
  2. 2
    Solicitar una cosa, haciendo las diligencias necesarias para su consecución.
  3. 3
    Intentar algo que a priori no es posible.
  4. 4
    Cortejar a una mujer para volverse su pareja o casarse con ella.

Synonyms

procurar

This word in other languages

try(English)faire semblant(Français)pretender(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • pertender
  • ppretender
  • preetnder
  • pretedner
  • pretendder
  • pretenderr
  • pretendre
  • pretenedr
  • pretennder
  • pretneder
  • prettender
  • prretender
  • prteender
  • rpetender

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of pretender - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

pertender2ppretender1preetnder2pretedner2pretendder1pretenderr1pretendre2pretenedr2
Edit distance from "pretender"

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.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "pretender"?
"pretender" is spelled P-R-E-T-E-N-D-E-R. The IPA pronunciation is [pɾet̪ẽn̪ˈd̪eɾ].
What does "pretender" mean?
As a verb, "pretender" means: Hacer diligencias o esfuerzos para conseguir lo que se desea.
What words are commonly confused with "pretender"?
"pretender" is commonly confused with "pretendo", "pretendía", "pretendes". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "pretender"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "pretender" is [pɾet̪ẽn̪ˈd̪eɾ]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "pretender" come from?
"pretender" is a Spanish word. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for this and other words across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German on PlainSpell.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar Spanish words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "pretender", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked Spanish headwords with 9 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

prácticos#9,025prefieres#9,018queríamos#9,028planteado#9,016

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (14 here; floor ≥5).

preocupada14 variantsregimiento14 variantssociología14 variantsSudamérica14 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list