Which to use
“empeñado” is an adjective and “empeorado” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #28,742
- “empeñado” frequency rank
- #30,055
- “empeorado” frequency rank
- 58797
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | empeñado | empeorado |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Dicho de disputas o reyertas: acalorado, reñido. | Participio de empeorar. |
Where the eye mixes empeñado and empeorado
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: empeñado vs empeorado
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: empeñado is [ẽmpeˈɲað̞o] while empeorado is [ẽmpeoˈɾað̞o]. 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 58797, 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]. empeorado is at rank #30,055, tagged as averb, pronounced [ẽmpeoˈɾað̞o].
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 58797, this pair ranks #65,113 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of empeñado vs empeorado
Shared letters: ademop. Private to "empeñado": ñ. Private to "empeorado": r.
"empeñado" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCVCV · "empeorado" · 9 letters · shape VCCVVCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- empeorado ← emeporado · emmpeorado · empeoardo · empeoraddo · empeoraod · empeordao · empeorrado · emperoado
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "empeñado" and "empeorado" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "empeñado" or "empeorado"?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "empeñado" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "empeorado" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #65,113 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "empeñado" and "empeorado" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "empeñado vs empinada". 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 #65,113 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.