empiezavsempiezasWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“empieza” and “empiezas” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#1,444
“empieza” frequency rank
#11,037
“empiezas” frequency rank
12481
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature empieza empiezas
Definition Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de empezar. Segunda persona del singular (tú) del presente de indicativo de empezar.

Where the eye mixes empieza and empiezas

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. empieza runs 7 letters (VCCVVCV) against empiezas's 8 (VCCVVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

7 ch
empieza
8 ch
empiezas

Look-alike desk: empieza vs empiezas

A purely visual mix-up. empieza ([ẽmˈpjesa]) and empiezas ([ẽmˈpjesas]) 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 1 extra letter(s) - “empieza” sits inside “empiezas”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 12481, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

empieza is recorded at frequency rank #1,444, classified as averb, pronounced [ẽmˈpjesa]. empiezas is at rank #11,037, tagged as averb, pronounced [ẽmˈpjesas].

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 12481, this pair ranks #291,400 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of empieza vs empiezas

Shared letters: aeimpz. Private to "empieza": -. Private to "empiezas": s.

"empieza" · 7 letters · shape VCCVVCV  ·  "empiezas" · 8 letters · shape VCCVVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • empiezaemipeza · emmpieza · empeiza · empieaz · empiezza · empizea · emppieza · epmieza
  • empiezasemipezas · emmpiezas · empeizas · empieazs · empiezass · empiezsa · empiezzas · empizeas

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "empieza" for "empiezas" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ẽmˈpjesa] versus [ẽmˈpjesas]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "empieza" vs "empiezas" - which ranks higher?
"empieza" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,444 in our Spanish list, against #11,037 for "empiezas". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "empieza" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "empiezas" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #291,400 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "empieza" and "empiezas" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "empieza vs emplaza". 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 #291,400 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list