espejovsespesaWhat's the difference?

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

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 spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set espejo and espesa apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
espejo
6 ch
espesa

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

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

  • espejoepsejo · esepjo · espejjo · espeoj · espjeo · esppejo · esspejo · sepejo
  • espesaepsesa · esepsa · espeas · espessa · esppesa · espsea · esspesa · sepesa

Frequency comparison

espejo#3,178
espesa#21,322

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "espejo" and "espesa" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "espejo" is a noun and "espesa" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "espejo" or "espesa"?
"espejo" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,178 in our Spanish list, against #21,322 for "espesa". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering espejo vs espesa

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

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