Which to use
“embargo” and “encargo” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #264
- “embargo” frequency rank
- #5,719
- “encargo” frequency rank
- 5983
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | embargo | encargo |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Ocupación, aprehensión o retención de los bienes de una persona hecha con mandamiento de juez competente por razón de deuda o delito. | Acción o efecto de encargar. |
Where the eye mixes embargo and encargo
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses embargo with encargo
A purely visual mix-up. embargo ([ẽmˈbaɾɣ̞o]) and encargo ([ẽŋˈkaɾɣ̞o]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 5983, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
embargo is recorded at frequency rank #264, classified as anoun, pronounced [ẽmˈbaɾɣ̞o]. encargo is at rank #5,719, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ẽŋˈkaɾɣ̞o].
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 5983, this pair ranks #312,107 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of embargo vs encargo
Shared letters: aegor. Private to "embargo": bm. Private to "encargo": cn.
"embargo" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCCV · "encargo" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "embargo" and "encargo" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "embargo" vs "encargo" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "embargo" and "encargo" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "embargo" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "encargo" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #312,107 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "embargo" and "encargo" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "embargo vs embargos". 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 #312,107 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.