Which to use
“esperad” and “esperar” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #49,627
- “esperad” frequency rank
- #823
- “esperar” frequency rank
- 50450
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | esperad | esperar |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Segunda persona del plural (vosotros, vosotras) del imperativo afirmativo de esperar. | Detener el movimiento o la acción hasta la llegada u ocurrencia de algo, hacer tiempo. |
Where the eye mixes esperad and esperar
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between esperad and esperar
A purely visual mix-up. esperad ([espeˈɾað̞]) and esperar ([espeˈɾaɾ]) 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 a single letter - d in “esperad” becomes r in “esperar”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 50450, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
esperad is recorded at frequency rank #49,627, classified as averb, pronounced [espeˈɾað̞]. 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 50450, this pair ranks #103,136 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of esperad vs esperar
Shared letters: aeprs. Private to "esperad": d. Private to "esperar": -.
"esperad" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCVC · "esperar" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "esperad" for "esperar" ever safe?
In ordinary Spanish text, does "esperad" or "esperar" show up more?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "esperad" 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 #103,136 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "esperad" and "esperar" 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 #103,136 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.