Which to use
“desarrolla” and “desarrollan” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #4,153
- “desarrolla” frequency rank
- #7,414
- “desarrollan” frequency rank
- 11567
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | desarrolla | desarrollan |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de desarrollar o de desarrollarse. | Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de desarrollar o de desarrollarse. |
Where the eye mixes desarrolla and desarrollan
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 10 letters in sequence. desarrolla runs 10 letters (CVCVCCVCCV) against desarrollan's 11 (CVCVCCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: desarrolla vs desarrollan
A purely visual mix-up. desarrolla ([d̪esaˈroʝa]) and desarrollan ([d̪esaˈroʝãn]) 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) - “desarrolla” sits inside “desarrollan”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 11567, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
desarrolla is recorded at frequency rank #4,153, classified as averb, pronounced [d̪esaˈroʝa]. desarrollan is at rank #7,414, tagged as averb, pronounced [d̪esaˈroʝãn].
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 11567, this pair ranks #294,645 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of desarrolla vs desarrollan
Shared letters: adelors. Private to "desarrolla": -. Private to "desarrollan": n.
"desarrolla" · 10 letters · shape CVCVCCVCCV · "desarrollan" · 11 letters · shape CVCVCCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- desarrolla ← ddesarrolla · deasrrolla · desarolla · desarorlla · desarrlola · desarrola · desarrolal · desrarolla
- desarrollan ← ddesarrollan · deasrrollan · desarollan · desarorllan · desarrlolan · desarrolaln · desarrolan · desarrollann
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "desarrolla" for "desarrollan" ever safe?
In ordinary Spanish text, does "desarrolla" or "desarrollan" show up more?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "desarrolla" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "desarrollan" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #294,645 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "desarrolla" and "desarrollan" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "desarrollan vs desarrollarán". 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 #294,645 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.