Which to use
“emplea” is a noun and “empuja” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #7,302
- “emplea” frequency rank
- #15,080
- “empuja” frequency rank
- 22382
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | emplea | empuja |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Empleo o mercaderías en que se gasta el dinero para comerciar. | Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de empujar. |
Where the eye mixes emplea and empuja
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. emplea (VCCCVV) and empuja (VCCVCV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Visual trap between emplea and empuja
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: emplea is [ẽmˈplea] while empuja is [ẽmˈpuxa]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 22382, 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]. empuja is at rank #15,080, tagged as averb, pronounced [ẽmˈpuxa].
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 22382, this pair ranks #250,590 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of emplea vs empuja
Shared letters: aemp. Private to "emplea": l. Private to "empuja": ju.
"emplea" · 6 letters · shape VCCCVV · "empuja" · 6 letters · shape VCCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "emplea" for "empuja" ever safe?
Which is more common, "emplea" or "empuja"?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "emplea" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "empuja" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #250,590 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "emplea" and "empuja" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "empuja vs empujada". 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 #250,590 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.