empecemosvsesperemosTell them apart

Which to use

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

#12,144
“empecemos” frequency rank
#4,999
“esperemos” frequency rank
17143
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature empecemos esperemos
Definition Primera persona del plural (nosotros, nosotras) del presente de subjuntivo de empezar. Primera persona del plural (nosotros, nosotras) del presente de subjuntivo de esperar o de esperarse.

Where the eye mixes empecemos and esperemos

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. empecemos and esperemos 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
esperemos

Visual trap between empecemos and esperemos

A purely visual mix-up. empecemos ([ẽmpeˈsemos]) and esperemos ([espeˈɾemos]) 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 17143, 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]. esperemos is at rank #4,999, tagged as averb, pronounced [espeˈɾemos].

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 17143, this pair ranks #273,382 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of empecemos vs esperemos

Shared letters: emops. Private to "empecemos": c. Private to "esperemos": r.

"empecemos" · 9 letters · shape VCCVCVCVC  ·  "esperemos" · 9 letters · shape VCCVCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • empecemos ← emepcemos · emmpecemos · empceemos · empeccemos · empecemmos · empecemoss · empecemso · empeceoms
  • esperemos ← epseremos · esepremos · espeermos · esperemmos · esperemoss · esperemso · espereoms · espermeos

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "empecemos" and "esperemos" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ẽmpeˈsemos] versus [espeˈɾemos]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "empecemos" vs "esperemos" - which ranks higher?
"esperemos" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #4,999 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.

What to do next

Eye-level mix-up between "empecemos" and "esperemos" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "empecemos" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "esperemos" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #273,382 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "empecemos" and "esperemos" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "esperaremos vs esperemos". 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 #273,382 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