empleadavsemplearWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: empleada is a participle, emplear is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“empleada” is a participle and “emplear” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#7,851
“empleada” frequency rank
#8,653
“emplear” frequency rank
16504
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature empleada emplear
Definition Forma del femenino de empleado, participio de emplear o de emplearse. Ocupar a uno encargándole algún negocio o puesto.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set empleada and emplear apart are highlighted. They share 6 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

8 ch
empleada
7 ch
emplear

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: empleada is [ẽmpleˈað̞a] while emplear is [ẽmpleˈaɾ]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (participle vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 16504, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

empleada is recorded at frequency rank #7,851, classified as aparticiple, pronounced [ẽmpleˈað̞a]. emplear is at rank #8,653, tagged as averb, pronounced [ẽmpleˈaɾ].

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 16504, this pair ranks #275,889 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of empleada vs emplear

Shared letters: aelmp. Private to "empleada": d. Private to "emplear": r.

"empleada" · 8 letters · shape VCCCVVCV  ·  "emplear" · 7 letters · shape VCCCVVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • empleadaemlpeada · emmpleada · empelada · emplaeda · empleaad · empleadda · empledaa · emplleada
  • emplearemlpear · emmplear · empelar · emplaer · emplearr · emplera · empllear · empplear

Frequency comparison

empleada#7,851
emplear#8,653

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "empleada" and "emplear" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "empleada" is a participle and "emplear" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "empleada" or "emplear"?
"empleada" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #7,851 in our Spanish list, against #8,653 for "emplear". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering empleada vs emplear

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a participle, it's “empleada”; for a verb, it's “emplear”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “empleada” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list