pensévsponeConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#1,522
“pensé” frequency rank
#857
“pone” frequency rank
2379
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature pensé pone
Definition Primera persona del singular (yo) del pretérito perfecto simple de indicativo de pensar. Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de poner.

Where the eye mixes pensé and pone

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.

5 ch
pensé
4 ch
pone

Why the eye confuses pensé with pone

A purely visual mix-up. pensé ([pẽnˈse]) and pone ([ˈpone]) 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 2379, 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]. pone is at rank #857, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈpone].

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 2379, this pair ranks #320,435 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of pensé vs pone

Shared letters: enp. Private to "pensé": . Private to "pone": o.

"pensé" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV  ·  "pone" · 4 letters · shape CVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • poneopne · pnoe · poen · ponne · ppone

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "pensé" and "pone" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([pẽnˈse] versus [ˈpone]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "pensé" vs "pone" - which ranks higher?
"pone" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #857 in our Spanish list, against #1,522 for "pensé". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "pensé" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "pone" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #320,435 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "pensé" and "pone" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "pence vs pensé". 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 #320,435 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