parecenvspartenWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#1,520
“parecen” frequency rank
#15,680
“parten” frequency rank
17200
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature parecen parten
Definition Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de parecer o de parecerse. Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de partir o de partirse.

Where the eye mixes parecen and parten

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

7 ch
parecen
6 ch
parten

Why the eye confuses parecen with parten

A purely visual mix-up. parecen ([paˈɾesẽn]) and parten ([ˈpaɾt̪ẽn]) 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 17200, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

parecen is recorded at frequency rank #1,520, classified as averb, pronounced [paˈɾesẽn]. parten is at rank #15,680, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈpaɾt̪ẽn].

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 17200, this pair ranks #273,135 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of parecen vs parten

Shared letters: aenpr. Private to "parecen": c. Private to "parten": t.

"parecen" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC  ·  "parten" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • parecen ← aprecen · paercen · parceen · pareccen · parecenn · parecne · pareecn · paresen
  • parten ← aprten · paretn · parrten · partenn · partne · partten · patren · pparten

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "parecen" for "parten" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([paˈɾesẽn] versus [ˈpaɾt̪ẽn]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "parecen" or "parten"?
"parecen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,520 in our Spanish list, against #15,680 for "parten". 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 "parecen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "parten" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #273,135 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "parecen" and "parten" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "parten vs partían". 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 #273,135 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