preocupanvspreocupoWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#8,855
“preocupan” frequency rank
#18,645
“preocupo” frequency rank
27500
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature preocupan preocupo
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 indicativo de preocupar o de preocuparse.

Where the eye mixes preocupan and preocupo

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

9 ch
preocupan
8 ch
preocupo

Why the eye confuses preocupan with preocupo

A purely visual mix-up. preocupan ([pɾeoˈkupãn]) 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 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 27500, 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]. 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 27500, this pair ranks #226,546 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of preocupan vs preocupo

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

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

Known mistypes of this pair

  • preocupan ← perocupan · ppreocupan · precoupan · preoccupan · preocpuan · preocuapn · preocupann · preocupna
  • preocupo ← perocupo · ppreocupo · precoupo · preoccupo · preocpuo · preocuop · preocuppo · preoucpo

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "preocupan" and "preocupo" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([pɾeoˈkupãn] versus [pɾeoˈkupo]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "preocupan" vs "preocupo" - which ranks higher?
"preocupan" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #8,855 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.

After this comparison

Eye-level mix-up between "preocupan" and "preocupo" 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 "preocupo" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #226,546 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "preocupan" and "preocupo" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "preocupan vs procuran". 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 #226,546 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