expandevsexpandirWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#20,364
“expande” frequency rank
#13,461
“expandir” frequency rank
33825
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature expande expandir
Definition Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de expandir o de expandirse. Hacer que algo ocupe más espacio, que sea más grande o largo, o que se propague y difunda.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set expande and expandir apart are highlighted. They share 6 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

7 ch
expande
8 ch
expandir

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. expande ([eksˈpãn̪d̪e]) and expandir ([ekspãn̪ˈd̪iɾ]) 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 33825, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

expande is recorded at frequency rank #20,364, classified as averb, pronounced [eksˈpãn̪d̪e]. expandir is at rank #13,461, tagged as averb, pronounced [ekspãn̪ˈd̪iɾ].

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 33825, this pair ranks #194,701 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of expande vs expandir

Shared letters: adenpx. Private to "expande": -. Private to "expandir": ir.

"expande" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCCV  ·  "expandir" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • expandeepxande · exapnde · expadne · expandde · expaned · expannde · expnade · exppande
  • expandirepxandir · exapndir · expadnir · expanddir · expandirr · expandri · expanidr · expanndir

Frequency comparison

expande#20,364
expandir#13,461

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "expande" and "expandir" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([eksˈpãn̪d̪e] versus [ekspãn̪ˈd̪iɾ]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "expande" or "expandir"?
"expandir" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #13,461 in our Spanish list, against #20,364 for "expande". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering expande vs expandir

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 “expande” 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