Which to use
“perder” and “pierden” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #855
- “perder” frequency rank
- #4,932
- “pierden” frequency rank
- 5787
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | perder | pierden |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Dejar de poseer un objeto o bien material. | Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de perder o de perderse. |
Where the eye mixes perder and pierden
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses perder with pierden
A purely visual mix-up. perder ([peɾˈð̞eɾ]) and pierden ([ˈpjeɾð̞ẽn]) 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 5787, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
perder is recorded at frequency rank #855, classified as averb, pronounced [peɾˈð̞eɾ]. pierden is at rank #4,932, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈpjeɾð̞ẽn].
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 5787, this pair ranks #312,657 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of perder vs pierden
Shared letters: depr. Private to "perder": -. Private to "pierden": in.
"perder" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "pierden" · 7 letters · shape CVVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "perder" for "pierden" ever safe?
Frequency check: "perder" vs "pierden" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "perder" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "pierden" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #312,657 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "perder" and "pierden" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "perder vs Perseo". 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 #312,657 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.