escribevsescribísWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#1,984
“escribe” frequency rank
#40,814
“escribís” frequency rank
42798
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature escribe escribís
Definition Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de escribir o de escribirse. Segunda persona del singular (vos) del presente de indicativo de escribir o de escribirse.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set escribe and escribís apart are highlighted. They share 6 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

7 ch
escribe
8 ch
escribís

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. escribe ([esˈkɾiβ̞e]) and escribís ([eskɾiˈβ̞is]) 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 42798, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

escribe is recorded at frequency rank #1,984, classified as averb, pronounced [esˈkɾiβ̞e]. escribís is at rank #40,814, tagged as averb, pronounced [eskɾiˈβ̞is].

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 42798, this pair ranks #146,234 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of escribe vs escribís

Shared letters: bceirs. Private to "escribe": -. Private to "escribís": í.

"escribe" · 7 letters · shape VCCCVCV  ·  "escribís" · 8 letters · shape VCCCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • escribeecsribe · esccribe · escirbe · escrbie · escribbe · escrieb · escrive · escrribe

Frequency comparison

escribe#1,984
escribís#40,814

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "escribe" and "escribís" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([esˈkɾiβ̞e] versus [eskɾiˈβ̞is]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "escribe" or "escribís"?
"escribe" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,984 in our Spanish list, against #40,814 for "escribís". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering escribe vs escribís

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 “escribe” 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