empiezanvsempiezoWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#3,700
“empiezan” frequency rank
#6,775
“empiezo” frequency rank
10475
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature empiezan empiezo
Definition Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de empezar. Primera persona del singular (yo) del presente de indicativo de empezar.

Where the eye mixes empiezan and empiezo

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. empiezan runs 8 letters (VCCVVCVC) against empiezo's 7 (VCCVVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

8 ch
empiezan
7 ch
empiezo

Look-alike desk: empiezan vs empiezo

A purely visual mix-up. empiezan ([ẽmˈpjesãn]) 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 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 10475, 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]. 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 10475, this pair ranks #298,470 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of empiezan vs empiezo

Shared letters: eimpz. Private to "empiezan": an. Private to "empiezo": o.

"empiezan" · 8 letters · shape VCCVVCVC  ·  "empiezo" · 7 letters · shape VCCVVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • empiezanemipezan · emmpiezan · empeizan · empieazn · empiezann · empiezna · empiezzan · empizean
  • empiezoemipezo · emmpiezo · empeizo · empieoz · empiezzo · empizeo · emppiezo · epmiezo

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "empiezan" and "empiezo" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ẽmˈpjesãn] versus [ẽmˈpjeso]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "empiezan" vs "empiezo" - which ranks higher?
"empiezan" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,700 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.

Useful next steps

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "empiezan" 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 #298,470 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "empiezan" and "empiezo" 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 #298,470 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