desaparecióvsdesapariciónWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

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

#5,946
“desapareció” frequency rank
#4,235
“desaparición” frequency rank
10181
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature desapareció desaparición
Definition Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del pretérito perfecto simple de indicativo de desaparecer o de desaparecerse. Acción o efecto de desaparecer.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set desapareció and desaparición apart are highlighted. They share 10 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

11 ch
desapareció
12 ch
desaparición

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: desapareció is [d̪esapaɾeˈsjo] while desaparición is [d̪esapaɾiˈsjõn]. 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 10181, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

desapareció is recorded at frequency rank #5,946, classified as averb, pronounced [d̪esapaɾeˈsjo]. desaparición is at rank #4,235, tagged as anoun, pronounced [d̪esapaɾiˈsjõn].

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 10181, this pair ranks #299,550 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of desapareció vs desaparición

Shared letters: acdeiprsó. Private to "desapareció": -. Private to "desaparición": n.

"desapareció" · 11 letters · shape CVCVCVCVCVV  ·  "desaparición" · 12 letters · shape CVCVCVCVCVVC

Frequency comparison

desapareció#5,946
desaparición#4,235

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "desapareció" and "desaparición" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "desapareció" is a verb and "desaparición" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "desapareció" or "desaparición"?
"desaparición" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #4,235 in our Spanish list, against #5,946 for "desapareció". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering desapareció vs desaparición

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “desapareció”; for a noun, it's “desaparición”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “desapareció” 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