Which to use
“empeñado” is an adjective and “empeñan” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #28,742
- “empeñado” frequency rank
- #36,551
- “empeñan” frequency rank
- 65293
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | empeñado | empeñan |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Dicho de disputas o reyertas: acalorado, reñido. | Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de empeñar o de empeñarse. |
Where the eye mixes empeñado and empeñan
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. empeñado runs 8 letters (VCCVCVCV) against empeñan's 7 (VCCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: empeñado vs empeñan
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: empeñado is [ẽmpeˈɲað̞o] while empeñan is [ẽmˈpeɲãn]. 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 (adjective vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 65293, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
empeñado is recorded at frequency rank #28,742, classified as anadj, pronounced [ẽmpeˈɲað̞o]. 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 65293, this pair ranks #43,074 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of empeñado vs empeñan
Shared letters: aempñ. Private to "empeñado": do. Private to "empeñan": n.
"empeñado" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCVCV · "empeñan" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "empeñado" for "empeñan" ever safe?
Frequency check: "empeñado" vs "empeñan" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "empeñado" 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 #43,074 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "empeñado" and "empeñan" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "empeñan vs empeños". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #43,074 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.