Which to use
“pertenece” and “perteneció” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #2,306
- “pertenece” frequency rank
- #19,525
- “perteneció” frequency rank
- 21831
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | pertenece | perteneció |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de pertenecer. | Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del pretérito perfecto simple de indicativo de pertenecer. |
Where the eye mixes pertenece and perteneció
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. pertenece runs 9 letters (CVCCVCVCV) against perteneció's 10 (CVCCVCVCVV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses pertenece with perteneció
A purely visual mix-up. pertenece ([peɾt̪eˈnese]) and perteneció ([peɾt̪eneˈsjo]) 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 21831, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
pertenece is recorded at frequency rank #2,306, classified as averb, pronounced [peɾt̪eˈnese]. perteneció is at rank #19,525, tagged as averb, pronounced [peɾt̪eneˈsjo].
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 21831, this pair ranks #253,151 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of pertenece vs perteneció
Shared letters: cenprt. Private to "pertenece": -. Private to "perteneció": ió.
"pertenece" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCVCV · "perteneció" · 10 letters · shape CVCCVCVCVV
Known mistypes of this pair
- pertenece ← eprtenece · peretnece · perrtenece · perteence · pertencee · pertenecce · perteneec · pertenese
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "pertenece" for "perteneció" ever safe?
In ordinary Spanish text, does "pertenece" or "perteneció" show up more?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "pertenece" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "perteneció" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #253,151 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "pertenece" and "perteneció" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "pertenecido vs perteneció". 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 #253,151 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.