pendevsperderWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#36,734
“pende” frequency rank
#855
“perder” frequency rank
37589
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature pende perder
Definition Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de pender. Dejar de poseer un objeto o bien material.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set pende and perder apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
pende
6 ch
perder

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. pende ([ˈpẽn̪d̪e]) and perder ([peɾˈð̞eɾ]) 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 37589, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

pende is recorded at frequency rank #36,734, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈpẽn̪d̪e]. perder is at rank #855, tagged as averb, pronounced [peɾˈð̞eɾ].

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 37589, this pair ranks #174,513 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of pende vs perder

Shared letters: dep. Private to "pende": n. Private to "perder": r.

"pende" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV  ·  "perder" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • pendeepnde · pedne · pendde · pened · pennde · pnede · ppende
  • perdereprder · pedrer · perdder · perderr · perdre · peredr · perrder · pperder

Frequency comparison

pende#36,734
perder#855

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "pende" and "perder" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈpẽn̪d̪e] versus [peɾˈð̞eɾ]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "pende" or "perder"?
"perder" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #855 in our Spanish list, against #36,734 for "pende". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering pende vs perder

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 “pende” 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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list