Which to use
“desperté” and “despierten” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #9,800
- “desperté” frequency rank
- #20,651
- “despierten” frequency rank
- 30451
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | desperté | despierten |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Primera persona del singular (yo) del pretérito perfecto simple de indicativo de despertar o de despertarse. | Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de subjuntivo de despertar o de despertarse. |
Where the eye mixes desperté and despierten
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. desperté runs 8 letters (CVCCVCCV) against despierten's 10 (CVCCVVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between desperté and despierten
A purely visual mix-up. desperté ([d̪espeɾˈt̪e]) and despierten ([d̪esˈpjeɾt̪ẽn]) 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 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 30451, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
desperté is recorded at frequency rank #9,800, classified as averb, pronounced [d̪espeɾˈt̪e]. despierten is at rank #20,651, tagged as averb, pronounced [d̪esˈpjeɾt̪ẽn].
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 30451, this pair ranks #211,919 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of desperté vs despierten
Shared letters: deprst. Private to "desperté": é. Private to "despierten": in.
"desperté" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCCV · "despierten" · 10 letters · shape CVCCVVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- despierten ← ddespierten · depsierten · desiperten · despeirten · despieretn · despierrten · despiertenn · despiertne
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "desperté" for "despierten" ever safe?
Frequency check: "desperté" vs "despierten" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "desperté" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "despierten" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #211,919 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "desperté" and "despierten" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "desperté vs despiste". 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 #211,919 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.