esperarvsesperesWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#823
“esperar” frequency rank
#11,045
“esperes” frequency rank
11868
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature esperar esperes
Definition Detener el movimiento o la acción hasta la llegada u ocurrencia de algo, hacer tiempo. Segunda persona del singular (tú) del presente de subjuntivo de esperar o de esperarse.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set esperar and esperes apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

7 ch
esperar
7 ch
esperes

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. esperar ([espeˈɾaɾ]) and esperes ([esˈpeɾes]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 11868, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

esperar is recorded at frequency rank #823, classified as averb, pronounced [espeˈɾaɾ]. esperes is at rank #11,045, tagged as averb, pronounced [esˈpeɾes].

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 11868, this pair ranks #293,564 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of esperar vs esperes

Shared letters: eprs. Private to "esperar": a. Private to "esperes": -.

"esperar" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCVC  ·  "esperes" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • esperarepserar · eseprar · espearr · esperarr · esperrar · espperar · esprear · essperar
  • esperesepseres · esepres · espeers · esperess · esperres · esperse · espperes · esprees

Frequency comparison

esperar#823
esperes#11,045

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "esperar" and "esperes" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([espeˈɾaɾ] versus [esˈpeɾes]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "esperar" or "esperes"?
"esperar" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #823 in our Spanish list, against #11,045 for "esperes". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering esperar vs esperes

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 “esperar” 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