Which to use
“pensé” and “piense” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #1,522
- “pensé” frequency rank
- #5,339
- “piense” frequency rank
- 6861
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | pensé | piense |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Primera persona del singular (yo) del pretérito perfecto simple de indicativo de pensar. | Primera persona del singular (yo) del presente de subjuntivo de pensar. |
Where the eye mixes pensé and piense
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: pensé vs piense
A purely visual mix-up. pensé ([pẽnˈse]) and piense ([ˈpjẽnse]) 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 6861, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
pensé is recorded at frequency rank #1,522, classified as averb, pronounced [pẽnˈse]. piense is at rank #5,339, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈpjẽnse].
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 6861, this pair ranks #309,609 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of pensé vs piense
Shared letters: enps. Private to "pensé": é. Private to "piense": i.
"pensé" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV · "piense" · 6 letters · shape CVVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- piense ← ipense · peinse · pience · pienes · piennse · piensse · piesne · pinese
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "pensé" and "piense" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "pensé" vs "piense" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "pensé" and "piense" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "pensé" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "piense" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #309,609 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "pensé" and "piense" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "pence vs piense". 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 #309,609 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.