ofrecervsofrecíWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#2,463
“ofrecer” frequency rank
#32,314
“ofrecí” frequency rank
34777
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature ofrecer ofrecí
Definition Mostrar, proponer o describir a alguien un objeto, valor, servicio o favor esperando que ese alguien desee o acepte ese algo, por altruismo, creencias religiosas, arrepentimiento o a cambio de otro algo. Primera persona del singular (yo) del pretérito perfecto simple de indicativo de ofrecer.

Where the eye mixes ofrecer and ofrecí

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. ofrecer runs 7 letters (VCCVCVC) against ofrecí's 6 (VCCVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

7 ch
ofrecer
6 ch
ofrecí

Why the eye confuses ofrecer with ofrecí

A purely visual mix-up. ofrecer ([ofɾeˈseɾ]) and ofrecí ([ofɾeˈsi]) 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 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 34777, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

ofrecer is recorded at frequency rank #2,463, classified as averb, pronounced [ofɾeˈseɾ]. ofrecí is at rank #32,314, tagged as averb, pronounced [ofɾeˈsi].

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 34777, this pair ranks #189,623 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of ofrecer vs ofrecí

Shared letters: cefor. Private to "ofrecer": -. Private to "ofrecí": í.

"ofrecer" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCVC  ·  "ofrecí" · 6 letters · shape VCCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • ofrecer ← forecer · ofercer · offrecer · ofrceer · ofreccer · ofrecerr · ofrecre · ofreecr

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "ofrecer" and "ofrecí" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ofɾeˈseɾ] versus [ofɾeˈsi]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "ofrecer" vs "ofrecí" - which ranks higher?
"ofrecer" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,463 in our Spanish list, against #32,314 for "ofrecí". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

After this comparison

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "ofrecer" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "ofrecí" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #189,623 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "ofrecer" and "ofrecí" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "ofreces vs ofrecí". 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 #189,623 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