Which to use
“encender” and “enciende” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #10,840
- “encender” frequency rank
- #11,399
- “enciende” frequency rank
- 22239
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | encender | enciende |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Iniciar una combustión. | Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de encender o de encenderse. |
Where the eye mixes encender and enciende
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. encender (VCCVCCVC) and enciende (VCCVVCCV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Why the eye confuses encender with enciende
A purely visual mix-up. encender ([ẽnsẽn̪ˈd̪eɾ]) and enciende ([ẽnˈsjẽn̪d̪e]) 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 5 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 22239, 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]. enciende is at rank #11,399, tagged as averb, pronounced [ẽnˈsjẽn̪d̪e].
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 22239, this pair ranks #251,271 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of encender vs enciende
Shared letters: cden. Private to "encender": r. Private to "enciende": i.
"encender" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCCVC · "enciende" · 8 letters · shape VCCVVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "encender" and "enciende" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "encender" or "enciende"?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "encender" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "enciende" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #251,271 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "encender" and "enciende" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "enciende vs enciendo". 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 #251,271 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.