Which to use
“empeñan” and “empujan” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #36,551
- “empeñan” frequency rank
- #26,020
- “empujan” frequency rank
- 62571
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | empeñan | empujan |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de empeñar o de empeñarse. | Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de empujar. |
Where the eye mixes empeñan and empujan
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. empeñan and empujan follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (VCCVCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Why the eye confuses empeñan with empujan
A purely visual mix-up. empeñan ([ẽmˈpeɲãn]) and empujan ([ẽmˈpuxãn]) 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 62571, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
empeñan is recorded at frequency rank #36,551, classified as averb, pronounced [ẽmˈpeɲãn]. empujan is at rank #26,020, tagged as averb, pronounced [ẽmˈpuxãn].
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 62571, this pair ranks #51,569 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of empeñan vs empujan
Shared letters: aemnp. Private to "empeñan": ñ. Private to "empujan": ju.
"empeñan" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCVC · "empujan" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- empujan ← emmpujan · empjuan · emppujan · empuajn · empujann · empujjan · empujna · emupjan
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "empeñan" for "empujan" ever safe?
In ordinary Spanish text, does "empeñan" or "empujan" show up more?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "empeñan" and "empujan" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "empeñan" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "empujan" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #51,569 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "empeñan" and "empujan" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "empeñan 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 #51,569 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.