preocupavspreocupoWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#2,682
“preocupa” frequency rank
#18,645
“preocupo” frequency rank
21327
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature preocupa preocupo
Definition Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de preocupar o de preocuparse. Primera persona del singular (yo) del presente de indicativo de preocupar o de preocuparse.

Where the eye mixes preocupa and preocupo

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. preocupa and preocupo follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CCVVCVCV). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.

8 ch
preocupa
8 ch
preocupo

Look-alike desk: preocupa vs preocupo

A purely visual mix-up. preocupa ([pɾeoˈkupa]) and preocupo ([pɾeoˈkupo]) 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 a single letter - a in “preocupa” becomes o in “preocupo”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 21327, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

preocupa is recorded at frequency rank #2,682, classified as averb, pronounced [pɾeoˈkupa]. preocupo is at rank #18,645, tagged as averb, pronounced [pɾeoˈkupo].

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 21327, this pair ranks #255,419 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of preocupa vs preocupo

Shared letters: ceopru. Private to "preocupa": a. Private to "preocupo": -.

"preocupa" · 8 letters · shape CCVVCVCV  ·  "preocupo" · 8 letters · shape CCVVCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • preocupa ← perocupa · ppreocupa · precoupa · preoccupa · preocpua · preocuap · preocuppa · preoucpa
  • preocupo ← perocupo · ppreocupo · precoupo · preoccupo · preocpuo · preocuop · preocuppo · preoucpo

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "preocupa" and "preocupo" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([pɾeoˈkupa] versus [pɾeoˈkupo]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary Spanish text, does "preocupa" or "preocupo" show up more?
"preocupa" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,682 in our Spanish list, against #18,645 for "preocupo". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Eye-level mix-up between "preocupa" and "preocupo" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "preocupa" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "preocupo" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #255,419 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "preocupa" and "preocupo" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "preocupo vs procuro". 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 #255,419 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