Which to use
“encender” and “encendió” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #10,840
- “encender” frequency rank
- #17,422
- “encendió” frequency rank
- 28262
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | encender | encendió |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Iniciar una combustión. | Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del pretérito perfecto simple de indicativo de encender o de encenderse. |
Where the eye mixes encender and encendió
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. encender (VCCVCCVC) and encendió (VCCVCCVV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Look-alike desk: encender vs encendió
A purely visual mix-up. encender ([ẽnsẽn̪ˈd̪eɾ]) and encendió ([ẽnsẽn̪ˈd̪jo]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 28262, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
encender is recorded at frequency rank #10,840, classified as averb, pronounced [ẽnsẽn̪ˈd̪eɾ]. encendió is at rank #17,422, tagged as averb, pronounced [ẽnsẽn̪ˈd̪jo].
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 28262, this pair ranks #222,888 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of encender vs encendió
Shared letters: cden. Private to "encender": r. Private to "encendió": ió.
"encender" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCCVC · "encendió" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCCVV
Known mistypes of this pair
- encender ← ecnender · enccender · encedner · encendder · encenderr · encendre · encenedr · encennder
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "encender" and "encendió" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "encender" or "encendió"?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "encender" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "encendió" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #222,888 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "encender" and "encendió" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "encendió vs excedió". 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 #222,888 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.