Which to use
“empeños” is a noun and “empezó” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #45,287
- “empeños” frequency rank
- #1,243
- “empezó” frequency rank
- 46530
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | empeños | empezó |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Forma del plural de empeño. | Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del pretérito perfecto simple de indicativo de empezar. |
Where the eye mixes empeños and empezó
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. empeños runs 7 letters (VCCVCVC) against empezó's 6 (VCCVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between empeños and empezó
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: empeños is [ẽmˈpeɲos] while empezó is [ẽmpeˈso]. 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 (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 46530, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
empeños is recorded at frequency rank #45,287, classified as anoun, pronounced [ẽmˈpeɲos]. empezó is at rank #1,243, tagged as averb, pronounced [ẽmpeˈso].
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 46530, this pair ranks #125,192 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of empeños vs empezó
Shared letters: emp. Private to "empeños": osñ. Private to "empezó": zó.
"empeños" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCVC · "empezó" · 6 letters · shape VCCVCV
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "empeños" and "empezó" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "empeños" vs "empezó" - 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 "empeños" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "empezó" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #125,192 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "empeños" and "empezó" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "empeñados vs empeños". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #125,192 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.