encogevsescogeConfusable pair

Which to use

“encoge” and “escoge” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#43,555
“encoge” frequency rank
#12,815
“escoge” frequency rank
56370
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature encoge escoge
Definition Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de encoger o de encogerse. Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de escoger.

Where the eye mixes encoge and escoge

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. encoge and escoge follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (VCCVCV). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.

6 ch
encoge
6 ch
escoge

Visual trap between encoge and escoge

A purely visual mix-up. encoge ([ẽŋˈkoxe]) and escoge ([esˈkoxe]) 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 a single letter - n in “encoge” becomes s in “escoge”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 56370, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

encoge is recorded at frequency rank #43,555, classified as averb, pronounced [ẽŋˈkoxe]. escoge is at rank #12,815, tagged as averb, pronounced [esˈkoxe].

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 56370, this pair ranks #74,891 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of encoge vs escoge

Shared letters: cego. Private to "encoge": n. Private to "escoge": s.

"encoge" · 6 letters · shape VCCVCV  ·  "escoge" · 6 letters · shape VCCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • encoge ← ecnoge · enccoge · encgoe · encoeg · encogge · enncoge · enocge · necoge
  • escoge ← ecsoge · esccoge · escgoe · escoeg · escogge · esocge · esscoge · secoge

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "encoge" and "escoge" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ẽŋˈkoxe] versus [esˈkoxe]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary Spanish text, does "encoge" or "escoge" show up more?
"escoge" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #12,815 in our Spanish list, against #43,555 for "encoge". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Eye-level mix-up between "encoge" and "escoge" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "encoge" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "escoge" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #74,891 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "encoge" and "escoge" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "encoge vs escogen". 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 #74,891 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list