prendervsprendíConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#12,677
“prender” frequency rank
#44,383
“prendí” frequency rank
57060
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature prender prendí
Definition Tomar, asir, agarrar. Primera persona del singular (yo) del pretérito perfecto simple de indicativo de prender o de prenderse.

Where the eye mixes prender and prendí

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. prender runs 7 letters (CCVCCVC) against prendí's 6 (CCVCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

7 ch
prender
6 ch
prendí

Visual trap between prender and prendí

A purely visual mix-up. prender ([pɾẽn̪ˈd̪eɾ]) and prendí ([pɾẽn̪ˈd̪i]) 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 57060, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

prender is recorded at frequency rank #12,677, classified as averb, pronounced [pɾẽn̪ˈd̪eɾ]. prendí is at rank #44,383, tagged as averb, pronounced [pɾẽn̪ˈd̪i].

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 57060, this pair ranks #72,029 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of prender vs prendí

Shared letters: denpr. Private to "prender": -. Private to "prendí": í.

"prender" · 7 letters · shape CCVCCVC  ·  "prendí" · 6 letters · shape CCVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • prender ← pernder · pprender · predner · prendder · prenderr · prendre · prenedr · prennder

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "prender" for "prendí" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([pɾẽn̪ˈd̪eɾ] versus [pɾẽn̪ˈd̪i]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "prender" vs "prendí" - which ranks higher?
"prender" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #12,677 in our Spanish list, against #44,383 for "prendí". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "prender" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "prendí" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #72,029 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "prender" and "prendí" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "prendan vs prendí". 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 #72,029 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