Which to use
“espera” is a noun and “esperar” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #785
- “espera” frequency rank
- #823
- “esperar” frequency rank
- 1608
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | espera | esperar |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Acción o efecto de esperar. | Detener el movimiento o la acción hasta la llegada u ocurrencia de algo, hacer tiempo. |
Where the eye mixes espera and esperar
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between espera and esperar
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: espera is [esˈpeɾa] while esperar is [espeˈɾaɾ]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “espera” sits inside “esperar”, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 1608, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
espera is recorded at frequency rank #785, classified as anoun, pronounced [esˈpeɾa]. esperar is at rank #823, tagged as averb, pronounced [espeˈɾaɾ].
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 1608, this pair ranks #321,749 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of espera vs esperar
Shared letters: aeprs. Private to "espera": -. Private to "esperar": -.
"espera" · 6 letters · shape VCCVCV · "esperar" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "espera" and "esperar" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "espera" or "esperar"?
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 "esperar" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #321,749 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "espera" and "esperar" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "esperad vs esperar". 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 #321,749 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.