Which to use
“empiecen” and “empiezan” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #9,447
- “empiecen” frequency rank
- #3,700
- “empiezan” frequency rank
- 13147
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | empiecen | empiezan |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de subjuntivo de empezar. | Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de empezar. |
Where the eye mixes empiecen and empiezan
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. empiecen and empiezan 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 empiecen with empiezan
A purely visual mix-up. empiecen ([ẽmˈpjesẽn]) and empiezan ([ẽmˈpjesãn]) 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 13147, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
empiecen is recorded at frequency rank #9,447, classified as averb, pronounced [ẽmˈpjesẽn]. empiezan is at rank #3,700, tagged as averb, pronounced [ẽmˈpjesãn].
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 13147, this pair ranks #288,963 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of empiecen vs empiezan
Shared letters: eimnp. Private to "empiecen": c. Private to "empiezan": az.
"empiecen" · 8 letters · shape VCCVVCVC · "empiezan" · 8 letters · shape VCCVVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "empiecen" for "empiezan" ever safe?
In ordinary Spanish text, does "empiecen" or "empiezan" show up more?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "empiecen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "empiezan" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #288,963 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "empiecen" and "empiezan" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "empeñan vs empiezan". 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 #288,963 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.