Which to use
“empeña” and “empeñan” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #34,086
- “empeña” frequency rank
- #36,551
- “empeñan” frequency rank
- 70637
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | empeña | empeñan |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de empeñar o de empeñarse. | Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de empeñar o de empeñarse. |
Where the eye mixes empeña and empeñan
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. empeña runs 6 letters (VCCVCV) against empeñan's 7 (VCCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: empeña vs empeñan
A purely visual mix-up. empeña ([ẽmˈpeɲa]) and empeñan ([ẽmˈpeɲãn]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “empeña” sits inside “empeñan”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 70637, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
empeña is recorded at frequency rank #34,086, classified as averb, pronounced [ẽmˈpeɲa]. empeñan is at rank #36,551, tagged as averb, pronounced [ẽmˈpeɲãn].
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 70637, this pair ranks #29,249 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of empeña vs empeñan
Shared letters: aempñ. Private to "empeña": -. Private to "empeñan": n.
"empeña" · 6 letters · shape VCCVCV · "empeñan" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "empeña" and "empeñan" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary Spanish text, does "empeña" or "empeñan" show up more?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "empeña" and "empeñan" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "empeña" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "empeñan" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #29,249 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "empeña" and "empeñan" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "empeñan vs empeños". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #29,249 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.