empleanvsempleoWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: emplean is a verb, empleo is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“emplean” is a verb and “empleo” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#11,398
“emplean” frequency rank
#1,310
“empleo” frequency rank
12708
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature emplean empleo
Definition Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de emplear o de emplearse. Acción o efecto de emplear

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set emplean and empleo apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

7 ch
emplean
6 ch
empleo

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: emplean is [ẽmˈpleãn] while empleo is [ẽmˈpleo]. 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 (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 12708, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

emplean is recorded at frequency rank #11,398, classified as averb, pronounced [ẽmˈpleãn]. empleo is at rank #1,310, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ẽmˈpleo].

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 12708, this pair ranks #290,552 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of emplean vs empleo

Shared letters: elmp. Private to "emplean": an. Private to "empleo": o.

"emplean" · 7 letters · shape VCCCVVC  ·  "empleo" · 6 letters · shape VCCCVV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • empleanemlpean · emmplean · empelan · emplaen · empleann · emplena · empllean · empplean
  • empleoemlpeo · emmpleo · empelo · emplleo · emploe · emppleo · epmleo · mepleo

Frequency comparison

emplean#11,398
empleo#1,310

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "emplean" and "empleo" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "emplean" is a verb and "empleo" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "emplean" or "empleo"?
"empleo" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,310 in our Spanish list, against #11,398 for "emplean". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering emplean vs empleo

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “emplean”; for a noun, it's “empleo”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “emplean” 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