fortalecevsfortalecerConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#17,434
“fortalece” frequency rank
#5,734
“fortalecer” frequency rank
23168
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature fortalece fortalecer
Definition Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de fortalecer o de fortalecerse. Dar vigor y fuerza material o moralmente.

Where the eye mixes fortalece and fortalecer

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 9 letters in sequence. fortalece runs 9 letters (CVCCVCVCV) against fortalecer's 10 (CVCCVCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

9 ch
fortalece
10 ch
fortalecer

Why the eye confuses fortalece with fortalecer

A purely visual mix-up. fortalece ([foɾt̪aˈlese]) and fortalecer ([foɾt̪aleˈseɾ]) 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 extra letter(s) - “fortalece” sits inside “fortalecer”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 23168, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

fortalece is recorded at frequency rank #17,434, classified as averb, pronounced [foɾt̪aˈlese]. fortalecer is at rank #5,734, tagged as averb, pronounced [foɾt̪aleˈseɾ].

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 23168, this pair ranks #247,060 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of fortalece vs fortalecer

Shared letters: aceflort. Private to "fortalece": -. Private to "fortalecer": -.

"fortalece" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCVCV  ·  "fortalecer" · 10 letters · shape CVCCVCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • fortalece ← ffortalece · foratlece · forrtalece · fortaelce · fortalcee · fortalecce · fortaleec · fortalese
  • fortalecer ← ffortalecer · foratlecer · forrtalecer · fortaelcer · fortalceer · fortaleccer · fortalecerr · fortalecre

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "fortalece" for "fortalecer" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([foɾt̪aˈlese] versus [foɾt̪aleˈseɾ]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "fortalece" or "fortalecer"?
"fortalecer" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #5,734 in our Spanish list, against #17,434 for "fortalece". 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 "fortalece" and "fortalecer" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "fortalece" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "fortalecer" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #247,060 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "fortalece" and "fortalecer" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "fortalece vs fortalezca". 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 #247,060 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