conducirvsconductorWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: conducir is a verb, conductor is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“conducir” is a verb and “conductor” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#3,993
“conducir” frequency rank
#3,539
“conductor” frequency rank
7532
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature conducir conductor
Definition Llevar₁, transportar₁ [algo o a alguien] de una parte a otra. Persona que conduce un automóvil.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set conducir and conductor apart are highlighted. They share 7 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

8 ch
conducir
9 ch
conductor

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: conducir is [kõn̪d̪uˈsiɾ] while conductor is [kõn̪d̪ukˈt̪oɾ]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 7532, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

conducir is recorded at frequency rank #3,993, classified as averb, pronounced [kõn̪d̪uˈsiɾ]. conductor is at rank #3,539, tagged as anoun, pronounced [kõn̪d̪ukˈt̪oɾ].

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 7532, this pair ranks #307,739 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of conducir vs conductor

Shared letters: cdnoru. Private to "conducir": i. Private to "conductor": t.

"conducir" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCVC  ·  "conductor" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • conducircconducir · cnoducir · codnucir · condcuir · condducir · conduccir · conducirr · conducri
  • conductorcconductor · cnoductor · codnuctor · condcutor · condductor · conducctor · conducotr · conductorr

Frequency comparison

conducir#3,993
conductor#3,539

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "conducir" and "conductor" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "conducir" is a verb and "conductor" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "conducir" or "conductor"?
"conductor" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,539 in our Spanish list, against #3,993 for "conducir". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering conducir vs conductor

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “conducir”; for a noun, it's “conductor”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “conducir” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list