nacenvsnacióWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#8,997
“nacen” frequency rank
#2,177
“nació” frequency rank
11174
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature nacen nació
Definition Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de nacer. Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del pretérito perfecto simple de indicativo de nacer.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set nacen and nació apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
nacen
5 ch
nació

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. nacen ([ˈnasẽn]) and nació ([naˈsjo]) 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 11174, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

nacen is recorded at frequency rank #8,997, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈnasẽn]. nació is at rank #2,177, tagged as averb, pronounced [naˈsjo].

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 11174, this pair ranks #296,029 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of nacen vs nació

Shared letters: acn. Private to "nacen": e. Private to "nació": .

"nacen" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC  ·  "nació" · 5 letters · shape CVCVV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • nacenancen · naccen · nacenn · nacne · naecn · nasen · ncaen · nnacen

Frequency comparison

nacen#8,997
nació#2,177

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "nacen" and "nació" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈnasẽn] versus [naˈsjo]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "nacen" or "nació"?
"nació" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,177 in our Spanish list, against #8,997 for "nacen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering nacen vs nació

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “nacen” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list