Which to use
“emplea” is a noun and “empleaba” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #7,302
- “emplea” frequency rank
- #33,105
- “empleaba” frequency rank
- 40407
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | emplea | empleaba |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Empleo o mercaderías en que se gasta el dinero para comerciar. | Primera persona del singular (yo) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de emplear o de emplearse. |
Where the eye mixes emplea and empleaba
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: emplea vs empleaba
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: emplea is [ẽmˈplea] while empleaba is [ẽmpleˈaβ̞a]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “emplea” sits inside “empleaba”, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 40407, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
emplea is recorded at frequency rank #7,302, classified as anoun, pronounced [ẽmˈplea]. empleaba is at rank #33,105, tagged as averb, pronounced [ẽmpleˈaβ̞a].
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 40407, this pair ranks #159,253 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of emplea vs empleaba
Shared letters: aelmp. Private to "emplea": -. Private to "empleaba": b.
"emplea" · 6 letters · shape VCCCVV · "empleaba" · 8 letters · shape VCCCVVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "emplea" and "empleaba" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "emplea" or "empleaba"?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "emplea" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "empleaba" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #159,253 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "emplea" and "empleaba" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "emplaza vs empleaba". 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 #159,253 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.