preocupanvspreocupeConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#8,855
“preocupan” frequency rank
#12,452
“preocupe” frequency rank
21307
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature preocupan preocupe
Definition Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de preocupar o de preocuparse. Primera persona del singular (yo) del presente de subjuntivo de preocupar o de preocuparse.

Where the eye mixes preocupan and preocupe

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. preocupan runs 9 letters (CCVVCVCVC) against preocupe's 8 (CCVVCVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

9 ch
preocupan
8 ch
preocupe

Visual trap between preocupan and preocupe

A purely visual mix-up. preocupan ([pɾeoˈkupãn]) and preocupe ([pɾeoˈkupe]) 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 21307, 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]. preocupe is at rank #12,452, tagged as averb, pronounced [pɾeoˈkupe].

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 21307, this pair ranks #255,480 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of preocupan vs preocupe

Shared letters: ceopru. Private to "preocupan": an. Private to "preocupe": -.

"preocupan" · 9 letters · shape CCVVCVCVC  ·  "preocupe" · 8 letters · shape CCVVCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • preocupan ← perocupan · ppreocupan · precoupan · preoccupan · preocpuan · preocuapn · preocupann · preocupna
  • preocupe ← perocupe · ppreocupe · precoupe · preoccupe · preocpue · preocuep · preocuppe · preoucpe

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "preocupan" for "preocupe" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([pɾeoˈkupãn] versus [pɾeoˈkupe]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "preocupan" or "preocupe"?
"preocupan" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #8,855 in our Spanish list, against #12,452 for "preocupe". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "preocupan" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "preocupe" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #255,480 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "preocupan" and "preocupe" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "preocupe vs preocupéis". 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 #255,480 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