escupevsescupirWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#29,637
“escupe” frequency rank
#24,143
“escupir” frequency rank
53780
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature escupe escupir
Definition Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de escupir. Expulsar voluntariamente y con cierta fuerza la saliva o flema fuera de la boca.

Where the eye mixes escupe and escupir

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. escupe runs 6 letters (VCCVCV) against escupir's 7 (VCCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

6 ch
escupe
7 ch
escupir

Look-alike desk: escupe vs escupir

A purely visual mix-up. escupe ([esˈkupe]) and escupir ([eskuˈpiɾ]) 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 53780, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

escupe is recorded at frequency rank #29,637, classified as averb, pronounced [esˈkupe]. escupir is at rank #24,143, tagged as averb, pronounced [eskuˈpiɾ].

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 53780, this pair ranks #86,235 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of escupe vs escupir

Shared letters: cepsu. Private to "escupe": -. Private to "escupir": ir.

"escupe" · 6 letters · shape VCCVCV  ·  "escupir" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • escupe ← ecsupe · esccupe · escpue · escuep · escuppe · esscupe · esucpe · secupe
  • escupir ← ecsupir · esccupir · escpuir · escuipr · escupirr · escuppir · escupri · esscupir

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "escupe" for "escupir" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([esˈkupe] versus [eskuˈpiɾ]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary Spanish text, does "escupe" or "escupir" show up more?
"escupir" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #24,143 in our Spanish list, against #29,637 for "escupe". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "escupe" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "escupir" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #86,235 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "escupe" and "escupir" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "escupe vs escupió". 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 #86,235 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