empiezavsempiezoConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#1,444
“empieza” frequency rank
#6,775
“empiezo” frequency rank
8219
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature empieza empiezo
Definition Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de empezar. Primera persona del singular (yo) del presente de indicativo de empezar.

Where the eye mixes empieza and empiezo

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. empieza and empiezo follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (VCCVVCV). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.

7 ch
empieza
7 ch
empiezo

Visual trap between empieza and empiezo

A purely visual mix-up. empieza ([ẽmˈpjesa]) and empiezo ([ẽmˈpjeso]) 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 - a in “empieza” becomes o in “empiezo”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 8219, 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]. empiezo is at rank #6,775, tagged as averb, pronounced [ẽmˈpjeso].

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 8219, this pair ranks #305,660 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of empieza vs empiezo

Shared letters: eimpz. Private to "empieza": a. Private to "empiezo": o.

"empieza" · 7 letters · shape VCCVVCV  ·  "empiezo" · 7 letters · shape VCCVVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • empiezaemipeza · emmpieza · empeiza · empieaz · empiezza · empizea · emppieza · epmieza
  • empiezoemipezo · emmpiezo · empeizo · empieoz · empiezzo · empizeo · emppiezo · epmiezo

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "empieza" and "empiezo" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ẽmˈpjesa] versus [ẽmˈpjeso]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "empieza" vs "empiezo" - which ranks higher?
"empieza" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,444 in our Spanish list, against #6,775 for "empiezo". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Eye-level mix-up between "empieza" and "empiezo" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "empieza" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "empiezo" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #305,660 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "empieza" and "empiezo" 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 #305,660 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