enseñévsenseñoWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: enseñé is a verb, enseño is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“enseñé” is a verb and “enseño” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#38,676
“enseñé” frequency rank
#11,569
“enseño” frequency rank
50245
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature enseñé enseño
Definition Primera persona del singular (yo) del pretérito perfecto simple de indicativo de enseñar o de enseñarse. Acción o efecto de enseñar.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set enseñé and enseño apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
enseñé
6 ch
enseño

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: enseñé is [ẽnseˈɲe] while enseño is [ẽnˈseɲo]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - é in “enseñé” becomes o in “enseño”, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 50245, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

enseñé is recorded at frequency rank #38,676, classified as averb, pronounced [ẽnseˈɲe]. enseño is at rank #11,569, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ẽnˈseɲo].

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 50245, this pair ranks #104,278 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of enseñé vs enseño

Shared letters: ensñ. Private to "enseñé": é. Private to "enseño": o.

"enseñé" · 6 letters · shape VCCVCV  ·  "enseño" · 6 letters · shape VCCVCV

Frequency comparison

enseñé#38,676
enseño#11,569

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "enseñé" and "enseño" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "enseñé" is a verb and "enseño" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "enseñé" or "enseño"?
"enseño" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #11,569 in our Spanish list, against #38,676 for "enseñé". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering enseñé vs enseño

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “enseñé”; for a noun, it's “enseño”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “enseñé” 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