esperarvsespesaWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#823
“esperar” frequency rank
#21,322
“espesa” frequency rank
22145
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature esperar espesa
Definition Detener el movimiento o la acción hasta la llegada u ocurrencia de algo, hacer tiempo. 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 esperar and espesa apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

7 ch
esperar
6 ch
espesa

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. esperar ([espeˈɾaɾ]) 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 22145, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

esperar is recorded at frequency rank #823, classified as averb, pronounced [espeˈɾaɾ]. 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 22145, this pair ranks #251,712 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of esperar vs espesa

Shared letters: aeps. Private to "esperar": r. Private to "espesa": -.

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

Known mistypes of this pair

  • esperarepserar · eseprar · espearr · esperarr · esperrar · espperar · esprear · essperar
  • espesaepsesa · esepsa · espeas · espessa · esppesa · espsea · esspesa · sepesa

Frequency comparison

esperar#823
espesa#21,322

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "esperar" and "espesa" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([espeˈɾaɾ] versus [esˈpesa]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "esperar" or "espesa"?
"esperar" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #823 in our Spanish list, against #21,322 for "espesa". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering esperar 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 “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