Which to use
“espera” is a noun and “esperad” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #785
- “espera” frequency rank
- #49,627
- “esperad” frequency rank
- 50412
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | espera | esperad |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Acción o efecto de esperar. | Segunda persona del plural (vosotros, vosotras) del imperativo afirmativo de esperar. |
Where the eye mixes espera and esperad
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses espera with esperad
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: espera is [esˈpeɾa] while esperad is [espeˈɾað̞]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “espera” sits inside “esperad”, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 50412, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
espera is recorded at frequency rank #785, classified as anoun, pronounced [esˈpeɾa]. esperad is at rank #49,627, tagged as averb, pronounced [espeˈɾað̞].
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 50412, this pair ranks #103,344 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of espera vs esperad
Shared letters: aeprs. Private to "espera": -. Private to "esperad": d.
"espera" · 6 letters · shape VCCVCV · "esperad" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "espera" for "esperad" ever safe?
Which is more common, "espera" or "esperad"?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "espera" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "esperad" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #103,344 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "espera" and "esperad" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "esperad vs esperará". 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 #103,344 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.