descubrevsdescubresConfusable pair

Which to use

“descubre” and “descubres” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#3,478
“descubre” frequency rank
#30,025
“descubres” frequency rank
33503
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature descubre descubres
Definition Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de descubrir o de descubrirse. Segunda persona del singular (tú) del presente de indicativo de descubrir o de descubrirse.

Where the eye mixes descubre and descubres

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. descubre runs 8 letters (CVCCVCCV) against descubres's 9 (CVCCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

8 ch
descubre
9 ch
descubres

Why the eye confuses descubre with descubres

A purely visual mix-up. descubre ([d̪esˈkuβ̞ɾe]) and descubres ([d̪esˈkuβ̞ɾes]) 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) - “descubre” sits inside “descubres”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 33503, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

descubre is recorded at frequency rank #3,478, classified as averb, pronounced [d̪esˈkuβ̞ɾe]. descubres is at rank #30,025, tagged as averb, pronounced [d̪esˈkuβ̞ɾes].

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 33503, this pair ranks #196,466 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of descubre vs descubres

Shared letters: bcdersu. Private to "descubre": -. Private to "descubres": -.

"descubre" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCCV  ·  "descubres" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • descubre ← ddescubre · decsubre · descbure · desccubre · descubbre · descuber · descubrre · descurbe
  • descubres ← ddescubres · decsubres · descbures · desccubres · descubbres · descubers · descubress · descubrres

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "descubre" for "descubres" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([d̪esˈkuβ̞ɾe] versus [d̪esˈkuβ̞ɾes]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "descubre" vs "descubres" - which ranks higher?
"descubre" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,478 in our Spanish list, against #30,025 for "descubres". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "descubre" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "descubres" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #196,466 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "descubre" and "descubres" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "descubras vs descubres". 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 #196,466 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list