perdónvsperdonanWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: perdón is a noun, perdonan is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“perdón” is a noun and “perdonan” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#1,357
“perdón” frequency rank
#30,616
“perdonan” frequency rank
31973
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature perdón perdonan
Definition Acción o resultado de perdonar. Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de perdonar.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set perdón and perdonan apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
perdón
8 ch
perdonan

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

perdón and perdonan form a confusable pair in the Spanish index, two distinct headwords that are easily confused because they look alike, sound alike, or both. They differ by 2 letter(s) in length - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 31973, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

perdón is recorded at frequency rank #1,357, classified as anoun, pronounced [peɾˈð̞õn]. perdonan is at rank #30,616, tagged as averb, pronounced [peɾˈð̞onãn].

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 31973, this pair ranks #204,368 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Frequency comparison

perdón#1,357
perdonan#30,616

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "perdón" and "perdonan" be used interchangeably?
No, "perdón" and "perdonan" have distinct meanings and cannot be swapped without changing the meaning of a sentence. Understanding the specific definition and context for each word is essential for correct usage.

Remembering perdón vs perdonan

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “perdón”; for a verb, it's “perdonan”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “perdón” 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