preocupanvspreocuparonConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#8,855
“preocupan” frequency rank
#43,783
“preocuparon” frequency rank
52638
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature preocupan preocuparon
Definition Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de preocupar o de preocuparse. Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del pretérito perfecto simple de indicativo de preocupar o de preocuparse.

Where the eye mixes preocupan and preocuparon

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 9 letters in sequence. preocupan runs 9 letters (CCVVCVCVC) against preocuparon's 11 (CCVVCVCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

9 ch
preocupan
11 ch
preocuparon

Visual trap between preocupan and preocuparon

A purely visual mix-up. preocupan ([pɾeoˈkupãn]) and preocuparon ([pɾeokuˈpaɾõn]) 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 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 52638, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

preocupan is recorded at frequency rank #8,855, classified as averb, pronounced [pɾeoˈkupãn]. preocuparon is at rank #43,783, tagged as averb, pronounced [pɾeokuˈpaɾõn].

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 52638, this pair ranks #91,770 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of preocupan vs preocuparon

Shared letters: acenopru. Private to "preocupan": -. Private to "preocuparon": -.

"preocupan" · 9 letters · shape CCVVCVCVC  ·  "preocuparon" · 11 letters · shape CCVVCVCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • preocupan ← perocupan · ppreocupan · precoupan · preoccupan · preocpuan · preocuapn · preocupann · preocupna
  • preocuparon ← perocuparon · ppreocuparon · precouparon · preoccuparon · preocpuaron · preocuapron · preocupaorn · preocuparno

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "preocupan" and "preocuparon" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([pɾeoˈkupãn] versus [pɾeokuˈpaɾõn]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "preocupan" or "preocuparon"?
"preocupan" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #8,855 in our Spanish list, against #43,783 for "preocuparon". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "preocupan" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "preocuparon" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #91,770 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "preocupan" and "preocuparon" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "preocupaban vs preocuparon". 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 #91,770 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