empacarvsempujarWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#41,326
“empacar” frequency rank
#14,129
“empujar” frequency rank
55455
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature empacar empujar
Definition Empaquetar, acondicionar cosas en paquetes o fardos. Aplicar una fuerza para mover o detener algo o a alguien.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set empacar and empujar apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

7 ch
empacar
7 ch
empujar

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. empacar ([ẽmpaˈkaɾ]) and empujar ([ẽmpuˈxaɾ]) 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 55455, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

empacar is recorded at frequency rank #41,326, classified as averb, pronounced [ẽmpaˈkaɾ]. empujar is at rank #14,129, tagged as averb, pronounced [ẽmpuˈxaɾ].

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 55455, this pair ranks #78,804 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of empacar vs empujar

Shared letters: aempr. Private to "empacar": c. Private to "empujar": ju.

"empacar" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCVC  ·  "empujar" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • empacaremapcar · emmpacar · empaacr · empacarr · empaccar · empacra · empcaar · emppacar
  • empujaremmpujar · empjuar · emppujar · empuajr · empujarr · empujjar · empujra · emupjar

Frequency comparison

empacar#41,326
empujar#14,129

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "empacar" and "empujar" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ẽmpaˈkaɾ] versus [ẽmpuˈxaɾ]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "empacar" or "empujar"?
"empujar" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #14,129 in our Spanish list, against #41,326 for "empacar". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering empacar vs empujar

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 “empacar” 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