Which to use
“despertar” and “despertó” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #4,073
- “despertar” frequency rank
- #8,104
- “despertó” frequency rank
- 12177
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | despertar | despertó |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Interrumpir el sueño de quien duerme. | Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del pretérito perfecto simple de indicativo de despertar o de despertarse. |
Where the eye mixes despertar and despertó
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. despertar runs 9 letters (CVCCVCCVC) against despertó's 8 (CVCCVCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between despertar and despertó
A purely visual mix-up. despertar ([d̪espeɾˈt̪aɾ]) and despertó ([d̪espeɾˈt̪o]) 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 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 12177, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
despertar is recorded at frequency rank #4,073, classified as averb, pronounced [d̪espeɾˈt̪aɾ]. despertó is at rank #8,104, tagged as averb, pronounced [d̪espeɾˈt̪o].
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 12177, this pair ranks #292,468 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of despertar vs despertó
Shared letters: deprst. Private to "despertar": a. Private to "despertó": ó.
"despertar" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCCVC · "despertó" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- despertar ← ddespertar · depsertar · deseprtar · desperatr · desperrtar · despertarr · despertra · desperttar
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "despertar" for "despertó" ever safe?
Which is more common, "despertar" or "despertó"?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "despertar" and "despertó" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "despertar" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "despertó" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #292,468 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "despertar" and "despertó" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "despertar vs despistar". 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 #292,468 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.