dependenvsdependerWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#6,895
“dependen” frequency rank
#8,368
“depender” frequency rank
15263
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature dependen depender
Definition Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de depender. Tener subordinación; estar bajo las órdenes o decisiones de una autoridad o gobierno.

Where the eye mixes dependen and depender

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

8 ch
dependen
8 ch
depender

Why the eye confuses dependen with depender

A purely visual mix-up. dependen ([d̪eˈpẽn̪d̪ẽn]) and depender ([d̪epẽn̪ˈd̪eɾ]) 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 a single letter - n in “dependen” becomes r in “depender”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 15263, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

dependen is recorded at frequency rank #6,895, classified as averb, pronounced [d̪eˈpẽn̪d̪ẽn]. depender is at rank #8,368, tagged as averb, pronounced [d̪epẽn̪ˈd̪eɾ].

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 15263, this pair ranks #280,887 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of dependen vs depender

Shared letters: denp. Private to "dependen": -. Private to "depender": r.

"dependen" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVC  ·  "depender" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • dependenddependen · deepnden · depednen · dependden · dependenn · dependne · depenedn · depennden
  • dependerddepender · deepnder · depedner · dependder · dependerr · dependre · depenedr · depennder

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "dependen" and "depender" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([d̪eˈpẽn̪d̪ẽn] versus [d̪epẽn̪ˈd̪eɾ]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "dependen" or "depender"?
"dependen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #6,895 in our Spanish list, against #8,368 for "depender". 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 "dependen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "depender" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #280,887 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "dependen" and "depender" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "depender vs dependerán". 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 #280,887 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