Which to use
“merecen” and “mereces” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #3,940
- “merecen” frequency rank
- #8,839
- “mereces” frequency rank
- 12779
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | merecen | mereces |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de merecer o de merecerse. | Segunda persona del singular (tú) del presente de indicativo de merecer o de merecerse. |
Where the eye mixes merecen and mereces
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses merecen with mereces
A purely visual mix-up. merecen ([meˈɾesẽn]) and mereces ([meˈɾeses]) 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 - n in “merecen” becomes s in “mereces”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 12779, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
merecen is recorded at frequency rank #3,940, classified as averb, pronounced [meˈɾesẽn]. mereces is at rank #8,839, tagged as averb, pronounced [meˈɾeses].
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 12779, this pair ranks #290,305 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of merecen vs mereces
Shared letters: cemr. Private to "merecen": n. Private to "mereces": s.
"merecen" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC · "mereces" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "merecen" and "mereces" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "merecen" or "mereces"?
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 "merecen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "mereces" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #290,305 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "merecen" and "mereces" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "mereces vs merecías". 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 #290,305 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.