Which to use
“empecé” is a verb and “empiece” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #3,842
- “empecé” frequency rank
- #6,397
- “empiece” frequency rank
- 10239
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | empecé | empiece |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Primera persona del singular (yo) del pretérito perfecto simple de indicativo de empezar. | Principio. |
Where the eye mixes empecé and empiece
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. empecé runs 6 letters (VCCVCV) against empiece's 7 (VCCVVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between empecé and empiece
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: empecé is [ẽmpeˈse] while empiece is [ẽmˈpjese]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 10239, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
empecé is recorded at frequency rank #3,842, classified as averb, pronounced [ẽmpeˈse]. empiece is at rank #6,397, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ẽmˈpjese].
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 10239, this pair ranks #299,340 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of empecé vs empiece
Shared letters: cemp. Private to "empecé": é. Private to "empiece": i.
"empecé" · 6 letters · shape VCCVCV · "empiece" · 7 letters · shape VCCVVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- empiece ← emipece · emmpiece · empeice · empicee · empiecce · empieec · empiese · emppiece
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "empecé" and "empiece" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary Spanish text, does "empecé" or "empiece" show up more?
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 "empecé" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "empiece" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #299,340 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "empecé" and "empiece" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "empiece vs emplee". 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 #299,340 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.