empiezanvsempiezasConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#3,700
“empiezan” frequency rank
#11,037
“empiezas” frequency rank
14737
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature empiezan empiezas
Definition Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de empezar. Segunda persona del singular (tú) del presente de indicativo de empezar.

Where the eye mixes empiezan and empiezas

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence.

8 ch
empiezan
8 ch
empiezas

Visual trap between empiezan and empiezas

A purely visual mix-up. empiezan ([ẽmˈpjesãn]) 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 a single letter - n in “empiezan” becomes s in “empiezas”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 14737, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

empiezan is recorded at frequency rank #3,700, classified as averb, pronounced [ẽmˈpjesãn]. 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 14737, this pair ranks #282,955 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of empiezan vs empiezas

Shared letters: aeimpz. Private to "empiezan": n. Private to "empiezas": s.

"empiezan" · 8 letters · shape VCCVVCVC  ·  "empiezas" · 8 letters · shape VCCVVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • empiezanemipezan · emmpiezan · empeizan · empieazn · empiezann · empiezna · empiezzan · empizean
  • empiezasemipezas · emmpiezas · empeizas · empieazs · empiezass · empiezsa · empiezzas · empizeas

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "empiezan" and "empiezas" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ẽmˈpjesãn] versus [ẽmˈpjesas]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "empiezan" vs "empiezas" - which ranks higher?
"empiezan" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,700 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 "empiezan" 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 #282,955 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "empiezan" and "empiezas" 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 #282,955 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