despiertevsdespiertenWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#13,020
“despierte” frequency rank
#20,651
“despierten” frequency rank
33671
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature despierte despierten
Definition Primera persona del singular (yo) del presente de subjuntivo 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 spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set despierte and despierten apart are highlighted. They share 9 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

9 ch
despierte
10 ch
despierten

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. despierte ([d̪esˈpjeɾt̪e]) 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 1 extra letter(s) - “despierte” sits inside “despierten”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 33671, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

despierte is recorded at frequency rank #13,020, classified as averb, pronounced [d̪esˈpjeɾt̪e]. 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 33671, this pair ranks #195,536 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of despierte vs despierten

Shared letters: deiprst. Private to "despierte": -. Private to "despierten": n.

"despierte" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVVCCV  ·  "despierten" · 10 letters · shape CVCCVVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • despierteddespierte · depsierte · desiperte · despeirte · despieret · despierrte · despiertte · despietre
  • despiertenddespierten · depsierten · desiperten · despeirten · despieretn · despierrten · despiertenn · despiertne

Frequency comparison

despierte#13,020
despierten#20,651

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "despierte" and "despierten" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([d̪esˈpjeɾt̪e] versus [d̪esˈpjeɾt̪ẽn]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "despierte" or "despierten"?
"despierte" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #13,020 in our Spanish list, against #20,651 for "despierten". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering despierte vs despierten

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “despierte” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list