comienzavscomienzanConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#1,402
“comienza” frequency rank
#5,186
“comienzan” frequency rank
6588
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature comienza comienzan
Definition Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de comenzar. Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de comenzar.

Where the eye mixes comienza and comienzan

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence.

8 ch
comienza
9 ch
comienzan

Visual trap between comienza and comienzan

A purely visual mix-up. comienza ([koˈmjẽnsa]) and comienzan ([koˈmjẽnsãn]) 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 extra letter(s) - “comienza” sits inside “comienzan”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 6588, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

comienza is recorded at frequency rank #1,402, classified as averb, pronounced [koˈmjẽnsa]. comienzan is at rank #5,186, tagged as averb, pronounced [koˈmjẽnsãn].

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 6588, this pair ranks #310,328 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of comienza vs comienzan

Shared letters: aceimnoz. Private to "comienza": -. Private to "comienzan": -.

"comienza" · 8 letters · shape CVCVVCCV  ·  "comienzan" · 9 letters · shape CVCVVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • comienzaccomienza · cmoienza · coimenza · comeinza · comienaz · comiennza · comienzza · comiezna
  • comienzanccomienzan · cmoienzan · coimenzan · comeinzan · comienazn · comiennzan · comienzann · comienzna

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "comienza" and "comienzan" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([koˈmjẽnsa] versus [koˈmjẽnsãn]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "comienza" or "comienzan"?
"comienza" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,402 in our Spanish list, against #5,186 for "comienzan". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "comienza" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "comienzan" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #310,328 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "comienza" and "comienzan" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "comienzan vs compensan". 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 #310,328 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