Which to use
“desconocen” and “desconocer” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #17,663
- “desconocen” frequency rank
- #19,695
- “desconocer” frequency rank
- 37358
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | desconocen | desconocer |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de desconocer o de desconocerse. | No conocer o saber; no tener la información sobre algo o alguien. |
Where the eye mixes desconocen and desconocer
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 9 letters in sequence. desconocen and desconocer follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCCVCVCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Visual trap between desconocen and desconocer
A purely visual mix-up. desconocen ([d̪eskoˈnosẽn]) and desconocer ([d̪eskonoˈseɾ]) 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 “desconocen” becomes r in “desconocer”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 37358, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
desconocen is recorded at frequency rank #17,663, classified as averb, pronounced [d̪eskoˈnosẽn]. desconocer is at rank #19,695, tagged as averb, pronounced [d̪eskonoˈseɾ].
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 37358, this pair ranks #175,737 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of desconocen vs desconocer
Shared letters: cdenos. Private to "desconocen": -. Private to "desconocer": r.
"desconocen" · 10 letters · shape CVCCVCVCVC · "desconocer" · 10 letters · shape CVCCVCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- desconocen ← ddesconocen · decsonocen · descconocen · descnoocen · desconcoen · desconnocen · desconoccen · desconocenn
- desconocer ← ddesconocer · decsonocer · descconocer · descnoocer · desconcoer · desconnocer · desconoccer · desconocerr
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "desconocen" and "desconocer" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary Spanish text, does "desconocen" or "desconocer" show up more?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "desconocen" and "desconocer" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "desconocen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "desconocer" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #175,737 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "desconocen" and "desconocer" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "desconocer vs desconocía". 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 #175,737 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.