Which to use
“encabezada” is a participle and “encabezan” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #14,130
- “encabezada” frequency rank
- #37,582
- “encabezan” frequency rank
- 51712
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | encabezada | encabezan |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Forma del femenino de encabezado, participio de encabezar. | Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de encabezar. |
Where the eye mixes encabezada and encabezan
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. encabezada runs 10 letters (VCCVCVCVCV) against encabezan's 9 (VCCVCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses encabezada with encabezan
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: encabezada is [ẽŋkaβ̞eˈsað̞a] while encabezan is [ẽŋkaˈβ̞esãn]. 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 51712, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
encabezada is recorded at frequency rank #14,130, classified as aparticiple, pronounced [ẽŋkaβ̞eˈsað̞a]. encabezan is at rank #37,582, tagged as averb, pronounced [ẽŋkaˈβ̞esãn].
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 51712, this pair ranks #96,453 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of encabezada vs encabezan
Shared letters: abcenz. Private to "encabezada": d. Private to "encabezan": -.
"encabezada" · 10 letters · shape VCCVCVCVCV · "encabezan" · 9 letters · shape VCCVCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- encabezada ← ecnabezada · enacbezada · encabbezada · encabeazda · encabezaad · encabezadda · encabezdaa · encabezzada
- encabezan ← ecnabezan · enacbezan · encabbezan · encabeazn · encabezann · encabezna · encabezzan · encabzean
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "encabezada" for "encabezan" ever safe?
Which is more common, "encabezada" or "encabezan"?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "encabezada" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "encabezan" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #96,453 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "encabezada" and "encabezan" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "encabezaba vs encabezan". 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 #96,453 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.