Which to use
“encender” and “encienden” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #10,840
- “encender” frequency rank
- #27,583
- “encienden” frequency rank
- 38423
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | encender | encienden |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Iniciar una combustión. | Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de encender o de encenderse. |
Where the eye mixes encender and encienden
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. encender runs 8 letters (VCCVCCVC) against encienden's 9 (VCCVVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: encender vs encienden
A purely visual mix-up. encender ([ẽnsẽn̪ˈd̪eɾ]) and encienden ([ẽnˈsjẽn̪d̪ẽn]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 38423, 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]. encienden is at rank #27,583, tagged as averb, pronounced [ẽnˈsjẽn̪d̪ẽn].
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 38423, this pair ranks #170,108 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of encender vs encienden
Shared letters: cden. Private to "encender": r. Private to "encienden": i.
"encender" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCCVC · "encienden" · 9 letters · shape VCCVVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "encender" and "encienden" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary Spanish text, does "encender" or "encienden" show up more?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "encender" and "encienden" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "encender" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "encienden" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #170,108 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "encender" and "encienden" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "encienden 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 #170,108 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.