Which to use
“empeora” is a verb and “espera” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #18,231
- “empeora” frequency rank
- #785
- “espera” frequency rank
- 19016
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | empeora | espera |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de empeorar. | Acción o efecto de esperar. |
Where the eye mixes empeora and espera
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. empeora runs 7 letters (VCCVVCV) against espera's 6 (VCCVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses empeora with espera
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: empeora is [ẽmpeˈoɾa] while espera is [esˈpeɾa]. 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 (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 19016, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
empeora is recorded at frequency rank #18,231, classified as averb, pronounced [ẽmpeˈoɾa]. espera is at rank #785, tagged as anoun, pronounced [esˈpeɾa].
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 19016, this pair ranks #265,534 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of empeora vs espera
Shared letters: aepr. Private to "empeora": mo. Private to "espera": s.
"empeora" · 7 letters · shape VCCVVCV · "espera" · 6 letters · shape VCCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "empeora" and "espera" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "empeora" vs "espera" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "empeora" and "espera" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "empeora" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "espera" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #265,534 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "empeora" and "espera" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "empeora vs empeoran". 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 #265,534 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.