explicaciónvsexplicaronTell them apart

Quick tell: explicación is a noun, explicaron is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“explicación” is a noun and “explicaron” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#2,500
“explicación” frequency rank
#16,099
“explicaron” frequency rank
18599
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature explicación explicaron
Definition Texto orientado a la función informativa que pretende ofrecer hechos y conceptos de manera objetiva con el fin de que sean más comprensibles. Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del pretérito perfecto simple de indicativo de explicar.

Where the eye mixes explicación and explicaron

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence.

11 ch
explicación
10 ch
explicaron

Why the eye confuses explicación with explicaron

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: explicación is [eksplikaˈsjõn] while explicaron is [ekspliˈkaɾõn]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 18599, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

explicación is recorded at frequency rank #2,500, classified as anoun, pronounced [eksplikaˈsjõn]. explicaron is at rank #16,099, tagged as averb, pronounced [ekspliˈkaɾõn].

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 18599, this pair ranks #267,233 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of explicación vs explicaron

Shared letters: aceilnpx. Private to "explicación": ó. Private to "explicaron": or.

"explicación" · 11 letters · shape VCCCVCVCVVC  ·  "explicaron" · 10 letters · shape VCCCVCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • explicaronepxlicaron · exlpicaron · expilcaron · explciaron · expliacron · explicaorn · explicarno · explicaronn

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "explicación" and "explicaron" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "explicación" is a noun and "explicaron" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Frequency check: "explicación" vs "explicaron" - which ranks higher?
"explicación" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,500 in our Spanish list, against #16,099 for "explicaron". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Eye-level mix-up between "explicación" and "explicaron" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "explicación" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "explicaron" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #267,233 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "explicación" and "explicaron" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "explicados vs explicaron". 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 #267,233 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list