Which to use
“empezaban” and “empleaban” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #24,136
- “empezaban” frequency rank
- #37,054
- “empleaban” frequency rank
- 61190
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | empezaban | empleaban |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de empezar. | Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de emplear. |
Where the eye mixes empezaban and empleaban
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. empezaban (VCCVCVCVC) and empleaban (VCCCVVCVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Visual trap between empezaban and empleaban
A purely visual mix-up. empezaban ([ẽmpeˈsaβ̞ãn]) and empleaban ([ẽmpleˈaβ̞ãn]) 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 61190, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
empezaban is recorded at frequency rank #24,136, classified as averb, pronounced [ẽmpeˈsaβ̞ãn]. empleaban is at rank #37,054, tagged as averb, pronounced [ẽmpleˈaβ̞ãn].
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 61190, this pair ranks #56,331 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of empezaban vs empleaban
Shared letters: abemnp. Private to "empezaban": z. Private to "empleaban": l.
"empezaban" · 9 letters · shape VCCVCVCVC · "empleaban" · 9 letters · shape VCCCVVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "empezaban" and "empleaban" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary Spanish text, does "empezaban" or "empleaban" show up more?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "empezaban" and "empleaban" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "empezaban" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "empleaban" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #56,331 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "empezaban" and "empleaban" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "empleaba vs empleaban". 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 #56,331 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.