fortalecenvsfortalecióWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#33,613
“fortalecen” frequency rank
#40,313
“fortaleció” frequency rank
73926
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature fortalecen fortaleció
Definition Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de fortalecer o de fortalecerse. Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del pretérito perfecto simple de indicativo de fortalecer o de fortalecerse.

Where the eye mixes fortalecen and fortaleció

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. fortalecen (CVCCVCVCVC) and fortaleció (CVCCVCVCVV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.

10 ch
fortalecen
10 ch
fortaleció

Why the eye confuses fortalecen with fortaleció

A purely visual mix-up. fortalecen ([foɾt̪aˈlesẽn]) and fortaleció ([foɾt̪aleˈsjo]) 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 73926, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

fortalecen is recorded at frequency rank #33,613, classified as averb, pronounced [foɾt̪aˈlesẽn]. fortaleció is at rank #40,313, tagged as averb, pronounced [foɾt̪aleˈsjo].

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 73926, this pair ranks #22,312 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of fortalecen vs fortaleció

Shared letters: aceflort. Private to "fortalecen": n. Private to "fortaleció": ió.

"fortalecen" · 10 letters · shape CVCCVCVCVC  ·  "fortaleció" · 10 letters · shape CVCCVCVCVV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • fortalecen ← ffortalecen · foratlecen · forrtalecen · fortaelcen · fortalceen · fortaleccen · fortalecenn · fortalecne

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "fortalecen" and "fortaleció" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([foɾt̪aˈlesẽn] versus [foɾt̪aleˈsjo]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "fortalecen" or "fortaleció"?
"fortalecen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #33,613 in our Spanish list, against #40,313 for "fortaleció". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "fortalecen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "fortaleció" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #22,312 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "fortalecen" and "fortaleció" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "fortalecen vs fortalecerá". 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 #22,312 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