Which to use
“espejo” is a noun and “espesa” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #3,178
- “espejo” frequency rank
- #21,322
- “espesa” frequency rank
- 24500
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | espejo | espesa |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Superficie capaz de reflejar la luz y suficientemente clara como para formar una imagen. | Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de espesar. |
Where the eye mixes espejo and espesa
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. espejo and espesa follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (VCCVCV). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Why the eye confuses espejo with espesa
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: espejo is [esˈpexo] while espesa is [esˈpesa]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 24500, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
espejo is recorded at frequency rank #3,178, classified as anoun, pronounced [esˈpexo]. espesa is at rank #21,322, tagged as averb, pronounced [esˈpesa].
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 24500, this pair ranks #240,890 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of espejo vs espesa
Shared letters: eps. Private to "espejo": jo. Private to "espesa": a.
"espejo" · 6 letters · shape VCCVCV · "espesa" · 6 letters · shape VCCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "espejo" and "espesa" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary Spanish text, does "espejo" or "espesa" show up more?
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 "espejo" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "espesa" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #240,890 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "espejo" and "espesa" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "esperad vs espesa". 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 #240,890 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.