empecemosvsempezamosWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#12,144
“empecemos” frequency rank
#4,003
“empezamos” frequency rank
16147
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature empecemos empezamos
Definition Primera persona del plural (nosotros, nosotras) del presente de subjuntivo de empezar. Primera persona del plural (nosotros, nosotras) del presente de indicativo de empezar.

Where the eye mixes empecemos and empezamos

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. empecemos and empezamos follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (VCCVCVCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.

9 ch
empecemos
9 ch
empezamos

Look-alike desk: empecemos vs empezamos

A purely visual mix-up. empecemos ([ẽmpeˈsemos]) and empezamos ([ẽmpeˈsamos]) 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 16147, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

empecemos is recorded at frequency rank #12,144, classified as averb, pronounced [ẽmpeˈsemos]. empezamos is at rank #4,003, tagged as averb, pronounced [ẽmpeˈsamos].

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 16147, this pair ranks #277,339 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of empecemos vs empezamos

Shared letters: emops. Private to "empecemos": c. Private to "empezamos": az.

"empecemos" · 9 letters · shape VCCVCVCVC  ·  "empezamos" · 9 letters · shape VCCVCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • empecemos ← emepcemos · emmpecemos · empceemos · empeccemos · empecemmos · empecemoss · empecemso · empeceoms
  • empezamos ← emepzamos · emmpezamos · empeazmos · empezammos · empezamoss · empezamso · empezaoms · empezmaos

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "empecemos" and "empezamos" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ẽmpeˈsemos] versus [ẽmpeˈsamos]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "empecemos" or "empezamos"?
"empezamos" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #4,003 in our Spanish list, against #12,144 for "empecemos". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "empecemos" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "empezamos" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #277,339 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "empecemos" and "empezamos" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "empezamos vs empleamos". 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 #277,339 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