Which to use
“enseñas” is a noun and “enseñaste” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #25,623
- “enseñas” frequency rank
- #25,624
- “enseñaste” frequency rank
- 51247
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | enseñas | enseñaste |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Forma del plural de enseña. | Segunda persona del singular (tú, vos) del pretérito perfecto simple de indicativo de enseñar o de enseñarse. |
Where the eye mixes enseñas and enseñaste
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. enseñas runs 7 letters (VCCVCVC) against enseñaste's 9 (VCCVCVCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between enseñas and enseñaste
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: enseñas is [ẽnˈseɲas] while enseñaste is [ẽnseˈɲast̪e]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “enseñas” sits inside “enseñaste”, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 51247, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
enseñas is recorded at frequency rank #25,623, classified as anoun, pronounced [ẽnˈseɲas]. enseñaste is at rank #25,624, tagged as averb, pronounced [ẽnseˈɲast̪e].
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 51247, this pair ranks #98,859 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of enseñas vs enseñaste
Shared letters: aensñ. Private to "enseñas": -. Private to "enseñaste": t.
"enseñas" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCVC · "enseñaste" · 9 letters · shape VCCVCVCCV
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "enseñas" for "enseñaste" ever safe?
Which is more common, "enseñas" or "enseñaste"?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "enseñas" and "enseñaste" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "enseñas" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "enseñaste" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #98,859 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "enseñas" and "enseñaste" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "enanas vs enseñas". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #98,859 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.