Which to use
“empeoran” and “empeorar” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #40,794
- “empeoran” frequency rank
- #15,602
- “empeorar” frequency rank
- 56396
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | empeoran | empeorar |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de empeorar. | Hacer que algo que ya era malo se vuelva aún peor. |
Where the eye mixes empeoran and empeorar
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. empeoran and empeorar follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (VCCVVCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Why the eye confuses empeoran with empeorar
A purely visual mix-up. empeoran ([ẽmpeˈoɾãn]) and empeorar ([ẽmpeoˈɾaɾ]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by a single letter - n in “empeoran” becomes r in “empeorar”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 56396, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
empeoran is recorded at frequency rank #40,794, classified as averb, pronounced [ẽmpeˈoɾãn]. empeorar is at rank #15,602, tagged as averb, pronounced [ẽmpeoˈɾaɾ].
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 56396, this pair ranks #74,781 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of empeoran vs empeorar
Shared letters: aemopr. Private to "empeoran": n. Private to "empeorar": -.
"empeoran" · 8 letters · shape VCCVVCVC · "empeorar" · 8 letters · shape VCCVVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "empeoran" and "empeorar" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary Spanish text, does "empeoran" or "empeorar" show up more?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "empeoran" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "empeorar" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #74,781 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "empeoran" and "empeorar" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "empeoran vs exploran". 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 #74,781 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.