adoptarvsadoptenWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

“adoptar” and “adopten” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#4,849
“adoptar” frequency rank
#24,362
“adopten” frequency rank
29211
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature adoptar adopten
Definition Llevar a cabo una adopción, el acto de recibir a alguien en una relación de parentesco (como hijo o pariente propios), con los requisitos legales del caso. Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de subjuntivo de adoptar.

Where the eye mixes adoptar and adopten

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. adoptar and adopten follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (VCVCCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.

7 ch
adoptar
7 ch
adopten

Visual trap between adoptar and adopten

A purely visual mix-up. adoptar ([að̞opˈt̪aɾ]) and adopten ([aˈð̞opt̪ẽn]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 29211, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

adoptar is recorded at frequency rank #4,849, classified as averb, pronounced [að̞opˈt̪aɾ]. adopten is at rank #24,362, tagged as averb, pronounced [aˈð̞opt̪ẽn].

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 29211, this pair ranks #218,156 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of adoptar vs adopten

Shared letters: adopt. Private to "adoptar": r. Private to "adopten": en.

"adoptar" · 7 letters · shape VCVCCVC  ·  "adopten" · 7 letters · shape VCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • adoptaraddoptar · adopatr · adopptar · adoptarr · adoptra · adopttar · adotpar · adpotar
  • adoptenaddopten · adopetn · adoppten · adoptenn · adoptne · adoptten · adotpen · adpoten

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "adoptar" and "adopten" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([að̞opˈt̪aɾ] versus [aˈð̞opt̪ẽn]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "adoptar" or "adopten"?
"adoptar" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #4,849 in our Spanish list, against #24,362 for "adopten". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "adoptar" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "adopten" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #218,156 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "adoptar" and "adopten" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "adapten vs adopten". Nearby pair
  • Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes

Confusion rank #218,156 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list