Which to use
“empeña” is a verb and “empeños” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #34,086
- “empeña” frequency rank
- #45,287
- “empeños” frequency rank
- 79373
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | empeña | empeños |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de empeñar o de empeñarse. | Forma del plural de empeño. |
Where the eye mixes empeña and empeños
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between empeña and empeños
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: empeña is [ẽmˈpeɲa] while empeños is [ẽmˈpeɲos]. 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 79373, 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]. empeños is at rank #45,287, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ẽmˈpeɲos].
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 79373, this pair ranks #13,099 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of empeña vs empeños
Shared letters: empñ. Private to "empeña": a. Private to "empeños": os.
"empeña" · 6 letters · shape VCCVCV · "empeños" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "empeña" for "empeños" ever safe?
In ordinary Spanish text, does "empeña" or "empeños" show up more?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "empeña" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "empeños" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #13,099 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "empeña" and "empeños" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "empeñados vs empeños". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #13,099 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.