Which to use
“desaparecía” and “desaparezca” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #39,688
- “desaparecía” frequency rank
- #14,817
- “desaparezca” frequency rank
- 54505
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | desaparecía | desaparezca |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Primera persona del singular (yo) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de desaparecer o de desaparecerse. | Primera persona del singular (yo) del presente de subjuntivo de desaparecer o de desaparecerse. |
Where the eye mixes desaparecía and desaparezca
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 10 letters in sequence. desaparecía (CVCVCVCVCVV) and desaparezca (CVCVCVCVCCV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Look-alike desk: desaparecía vs desaparezca
A purely visual mix-up. desaparecía ([d̪esapaɾeˈsia]) and desaparezca ([d̪esapaˈɾeska]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 54505, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
desaparecía is recorded at frequency rank #39,688, classified as averb, pronounced [d̪esapaɾeˈsia]. desaparezca is at rank #14,817, tagged as averb, pronounced [d̪esapaˈɾeska].
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 54505, this pair ranks #83,026 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of desaparecía vs desaparezca
Shared letters: acdeprs. Private to "desaparecía": í. Private to "desaparezca": z.
"desaparecía" · 11 letters · shape CVCVCVCVCVV · "desaparezca" · 11 letters · shape CVCVCVCVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- desaparezca ← ddesaparezca · deasparezca · desaaprezca · desapaerzca · desaparecza · desaparezac · desaparezcca · desaparezzca
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "desaparecía" and "desaparezca" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary Spanish text, does "desaparecía" or "desaparezca" show up more?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "desaparecía" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "desaparezca" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #83,026 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "desaparecía" and "desaparezca" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "desaparecería 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 #83,026 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.