intentarvsintentasWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#1,820
“intentar” frequency rank
#11,799
“intentas” frequency rank
13619
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature intentar intentas
Definition Prepararse para hacer algo, tomar las medidas necesarias y hacer el esfuerzo para conseguirlo. Segunda persona del singular (tú) del presente de indicativo de intentar.

Where the eye mixes intentar and intentas

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence.

8 ch
intentar
8 ch
intentas

Why the eye confuses intentar with intentas

A purely visual mix-up. intentar ([ĩn̪t̪ẽn̪ˈt̪aɾ]) and intentas ([ĩn̪ˈt̪ẽn̪t̪as]) 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 a single letter - r in “intentar” becomes s in “intentas”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 13619, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

intentar is recorded at frequency rank #1,820, classified as averb, pronounced [ĩn̪t̪ẽn̪ˈt̪aɾ]. intentas is at rank #11,799, tagged as averb, pronounced [ĩn̪ˈt̪ẽn̪t̪as].

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 13619, this pair ranks #287,170 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of intentar vs intentas

Shared letters: aeint. Private to "intentar": r. Private to "intentas": s.

"intentar" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCCVC  ·  "intentas" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • intentarinetntar · inntentar · intenatr · intenntar · intentarr · intentra · intenttar · intetnar
  • intentasinetntas · inntentas · intenats · intenntas · intentass · intentsa · intenttas · intetnas

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "intentar" for "intentas" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ĩn̪t̪ẽn̪ˈt̪aɾ] versus [ĩn̪ˈt̪ẽn̪t̪as]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "intentar" vs "intentas" - which ranks higher?
"intentar" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,820 in our Spanish list, against #11,799 for "intentas". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "intentar" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "intentas" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #287,170 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "intentar" and "intentas" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "ingentes vs intentas". 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 #287,170 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