pertenecevspertenezcoConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#2,306
“pertenece” frequency rank
#18,346
“pertenezco” frequency rank
20652
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature pertenece pertenezco
Definition Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de pertenecer. Primera persona del singular (yo) del presente de indicativo de pertenecer.

Where the eye mixes pertenece and pertenezco

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. pertenece runs 9 letters (CVCCVCVCV) against pertenezco's 10 (CVCCVCVCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

9 ch
pertenece
10 ch
pertenezco

Why the eye confuses pertenece with pertenezco

A purely visual mix-up. pertenece ([peɾt̪eˈnese]) and pertenezco ([peɾt̪eˈnesko]) 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 20652, 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]. pertenezco is at rank #18,346, tagged as averb, pronounced [peɾt̪eˈnesko].

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 20652, this pair ranks #258,393 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of pertenece vs pertenezco

Shared letters: cenprt. Private to "pertenece": -. Private to "pertenezco": oz.

"pertenece" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCVCV  ·  "pertenezco" · 10 letters · shape CVCCVCVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • pertenece ← eprtenece · peretnece · perrtenece · perteence · pertencee · pertenecce · perteneec · pertenese
  • pertenezco ← eprtenezco · peretnezco · perrtenezco · perteenzco · perteneczo · pertenezcco · pertenezoc · pertenezzco

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "pertenece" and "pertenezco" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([peɾt̪eˈnese] versus [peɾt̪eˈnesko]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "pertenece" vs "pertenezco" - which ranks higher?
"pertenece" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,306 in our Spanish list, against #18,346 for "pertenezco". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

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 "pertenezco" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #258,393 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "pertenece" and "pertenezco" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "pertenezcan vs pertenezco". 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 #258,393 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