esperanvsespesaWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“esperan” and “espesa” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#3,179
“esperan” frequency rank
#21,322
“espesa” frequency rank
24501
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature esperan espesa
Definition Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de esperar o de esperarse. 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 esperan and espesa apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

7 ch
esperan
6 ch
espesa

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. esperan ([esˈpeɾãn]) and espesa ([esˈpesa]) 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 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 24501, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

esperan is recorded at frequency rank #3,179, classified as averb, pronounced [esˈpeɾãn]. 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 24501, this pair ranks #240,883 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of esperan vs espesa

Shared letters: aeps. Private to "esperan": nr. Private to "espesa": -.

"esperan" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCVC  ·  "espesa" · 6 letters · shape VCCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • esperanepseran · esepran · espearn · esperann · esperna · esperran · espperan · esprean
  • espesaepsesa · esepsa · espeas · espessa · esppesa · espsea · esspesa · sepesa

Frequency comparison

esperan#3,179
espesa#21,322

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "esperan" and "espesa" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([esˈpeɾãn] versus [esˈpesa]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "esperan" or "espesa"?
"esperan" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,179 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 esperan vs espesa

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “esperan” 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