Which to use
“merecían” and “merezcan” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #23,864
- “merecían” frequency rank
- #38,239
- “merezcan” frequency rank
- 62103
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | merecían | merezcan |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de merecer o de merecerse. | Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de subjuntivo de merecer o de merecerse. |
Where the eye mixes merecían and merezcan
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. merecían (CVCVCVVC) and merezcan (CVCVCCVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Visual trap between merecían and merezcan
A purely visual mix-up. merecían ([meɾeˈsiãn]) and merezcan ([meˈɾeskãn]) 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 62103, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
merecían is recorded at frequency rank #23,864, classified as averb, pronounced [meɾeˈsiãn]. merezcan is at rank #38,239, tagged as averb, pronounced [meˈɾeskãn].
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 62103, this pair ranks #53,133 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of merecían vs merezcan
Shared letters: acemnr. Private to "merecían": í. Private to "merezcan": z.
"merecían" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCVVC · "merezcan" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- merezcan ← emrezcan · meerzcan · mereczan · merezacn · merezcann · merezccan · merezcna · merezzcan
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "merecían" for "merezcan" ever safe?
In ordinary Spanish text, does "merecían" or "merezcan" show up more?
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 "merecían" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "merezcan" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #53,133 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "merecían" and "merezcan" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "merecían 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 #53,133 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.