duermavsduermanConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#19,705
“duerma” frequency rank
#35,004
“duerman” frequency rank
54709
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature duerma duerman
Definition Primera persona del singular (yo) del presente de subjuntivo de dormir o de dormirse. Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de subjuntivo de dormir o de dormirse.

Where the eye mixes duerma and duerman

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence.

6 ch
duerma
7 ch
duerman

Visual trap between duerma and duerman

A purely visual mix-up. duerma ([ˈd̪weɾma]) and duerman ([ˈd̪weɾmãn]) 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) - “duerma” sits inside “duerman”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 54709, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

duerma is recorded at frequency rank #19,705, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈd̪weɾma]. duerman is at rank #35,004, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈd̪weɾmãn].

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 54709, this pair ranks #82,102 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of duerma vs duerman

Shared letters: ademru. Private to "duerma": -. Private to "duerman": n.

"duerma" · 6 letters · shape CVVCCV  ·  "duerman" · 7 letters · shape CVVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • duermadduerma · deurma · duemra · dueram · duermma · duerrma · durema · uderma
  • duermandduerman · deurman · duemran · dueramn · duermann · duermman · duermna · duerrman

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "duerma" and "duerman" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ˈd̪weɾma] versus [ˈd̪weɾmãn]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "duerma" or "duerman"?
"duerma" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #19,705 in our Spanish list, against #35,004 for "duerman". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "duerma" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "duerman" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #82,102 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "duerma" and "duerman" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "duerman vs Durban". 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 #82,102 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