alejandovsalentandoWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#25,123
“alejando” frequency rank
#27,842
“alentando” frequency rank
52965
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature alejando alentando
Definition Gerundio de alejar. Gerundio de alentar.

Where the eye mixes alejando and alentando

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence.

8 ch
alejando
9 ch
alentando

Look-alike desk: alejando vs alentando

A purely visual mix-up. alejando ([aleˈxãn̪d̪o]) and alentando ([alẽn̪ˈt̪ãn̪d̪o]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 52965, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

alejando is recorded at frequency rank #25,123, classified as averb, pronounced [aleˈxãn̪d̪o]. alentando is at rank #27,842, tagged as averb, pronounced [alẽn̪ˈt̪ãn̪d̪o].

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 52965, this pair ranks #90,216 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of alejando vs alentando

Shared letters: adelno. Private to "alejando": j. Private to "alentando": t.

"alejando" · 8 letters · shape VCVCVCCV  ·  "alentando" · 9 letters · shape VCVCCVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • alejandoaeljando · aleajndo · alejadno · alejanddo · alejanndo · alejanod · alejjando · alejnado
  • alentandoaelntando · alenatndo · alenntando · alentadno · alentanddo · alentanndo · alentanod · alentnado

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "alejando" for "alentando" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([aleˈxãn̪d̪o] versus [alẽn̪ˈt̪ãn̪d̪o]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "alejando" or "alentando"?
"alejando" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #25,123 in our Spanish list, against #27,842 for "alentando". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "alejando" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "alentando" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #90,216 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "alejando" and "alentando" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "alentando vs alertado". 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 #90,216 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