Which to use
“empeñados” is a participle and “empeños” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #39,725
- “empeñados” frequency rank
- #45,287
- “empeños” frequency rank
- 85012
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | empeñados | empeños |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Forma del plural de empeñado, participio de empeñar o de empeñarse. | Forma del plural de empeño. |
Where the eye mixes empeñados and empeños
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. empeñados runs 9 letters (VCCVCVCVC) against empeños's 7 (VCCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between empeñados and empeños
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: empeñados is [ẽmpeˈɲað̞os] while empeños is [ẽmˈpeɲos]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (participle vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 85012, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
empeñados is recorded at frequency rank #39,725, classified as aparticiple, pronounced [ẽmpeˈɲað̞os]. 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 85012, this pair ranks #6,499 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of empeñados vs empeños
Shared letters: emopsñ. Private to "empeñados": ad. Private to "empeños": -.
"empeñados" · 9 letters · shape VCCVCVCVC · "empeños" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "empeñados" and "empeños" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary Spanish text, does "empeñados" 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 "empeñados" 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 #6,499 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "empeñados" and "empeños" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "empeñados vs empujados". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #6,499 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.