enseñanvsenseñandoWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#8,946
“enseñan” frequency rank
#10,496
“enseñando” frequency rank
19442
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature enseñan enseñando
Definition Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de enseñar o de enseñarse. Gerundio de enseñar.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set enseñan and enseñando apart are highlighted. They share 7 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

7 ch
enseñan
9 ch
enseñando

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. enseñan ([ẽnˈseɲãn]) and enseñando ([ẽnseˈɲãn̪d̪o]) 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 2 extra letter(s) - “enseñan” sits inside “enseñando”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 19442, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

enseñan is recorded at frequency rank #8,946, classified as averb, pronounced [ẽnˈseɲãn]. enseñando is at rank #10,496, tagged as averb, pronounced [ẽnseˈɲãn̪d̪o].

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 19442, this pair ranks #263,732 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of enseñan vs enseñando

Shared letters: aensñ. Private to "enseñan": -. Private to "enseñando": do.

"enseñan" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCVC  ·  "enseñando" · 9 letters · shape VCCVCVCCV

Frequency comparison

enseñan#8,946
enseñando#10,496

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "enseñan" and "enseñando" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ẽnˈseɲãn] versus [ẽnseˈɲãn̪d̪o]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "enseñan" or "enseñando"?
"enseñan" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #8,946 in our Spanish list, against #10,496 for "enseñando". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering enseñan vs enseñando

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “enseñan” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list