Which to use
“empeña” and “empuja” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #34,086
- “empeña” frequency rank
- #15,080
- “empuja” frequency rank
- 49166
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | empeña | empuja |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de empeñar o de empeñarse. | Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de empujar. |
Where the eye mixes empeña and empuja
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. empeña and empuja follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (VCCVCV). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Look-alike desk: empeña vs empuja
A purely visual mix-up. empeña ([ẽmˈpeɲa]) and empuja ([ẽmˈpuxa]) 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 49166, 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]. empuja is at rank #15,080, tagged as averb, pronounced [ẽmˈpuxa].
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 49166, this pair ranks #110,361 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of empeña vs empuja
Shared letters: aemp. Private to "empeña": ñ. Private to "empuja": ju.
"empeña" · 6 letters · shape VCCVCV · "empuja" · 6 letters · shape VCCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- empuja ← emmpuja · empjua · emppuja · empuaj · empujja · emupja · epmuja · mepuja
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "empeña" for "empuja" ever safe?
Which is more common, "empeña" or "empuja"?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "empeña" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "empuja" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #110,361 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "empeña" and "empuja" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "empeña vs empeños". 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 #110,361 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.