Which to use
“desaparece” and “desaparecer” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #6,283
- “desaparece” frequency rank
- #4,000
- “desaparecer” frequency rank
- 10283
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | desaparece | desaparecer |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de desaparecer o de desaparecerse. | Dejar de estar a la vista o de ser visible. |
Where the eye mixes desaparece and desaparecer
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 10 letters in sequence. desaparece runs 10 letters (CVCVCVCVCV) against desaparecer's 11 (CVCVCVCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: desaparece vs desaparecer
A purely visual mix-up. desaparece ([d̪esapaˈɾese]) and desaparecer ([d̪esapaɾeˈseɾ]) 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) - “desaparece” sits inside “desaparecer”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 10283, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
desaparece is recorded at frequency rank #6,283, classified as averb, pronounced [d̪esapaˈɾese]. desaparecer is at rank #4,000, tagged as averb, pronounced [d̪esapaɾeˈseɾ].
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 10283, this pair ranks #299,171 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of desaparece vs desaparecer
Shared letters: acdeprs. Private to "desaparece": -. Private to "desaparecer": -.
"desaparece" · 10 letters · shape CVCVCVCVCV · "desaparecer" · 11 letters · shape CVCVCVCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- desaparece ← ddesaparece · deasparece · desaaprece · desapaerce · desaparcee · desaparecce · desapareec · desaparese
- desaparecer ← ddesaparecer · deasparecer · desaaprecer · desapaercer · desaparceer · desapareccer · desaparecerr · desaparecre
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "desaparece" for "desaparecer" ever safe?
Which is more common, "desaparece" or "desaparecer"?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "desaparece" and "desaparecer" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "desaparece" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "desaparecer" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #299,171 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "desaparece" and "desaparecer" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "desaparece vs desaparecía". 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 #299,171 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.