Which to use
“preocupar” and “preocuparon” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #16,948
- “preocupar” frequency rank
- #43,783
- “preocuparon” frequency rank
- 60731
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | preocupar | preocuparon |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Mantener fijo el pensamiento en un asunto o suceso negativo o perjudicial, que causa temor o inquietud. | 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 preocupar and preocuparon
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 9 letters in sequence. preocupar 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.
Why the eye confuses preocupar with preocuparon
A purely visual mix-up. preocupar ([pɾeokuˈpaɾ]) 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 extra letter(s) - “preocupar” sits inside “preocuparon”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 60731, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
preocupar is recorded at frequency rank #16,948, classified as averb, pronounced [pɾeokuˈpaɾ]. 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 60731, this pair ranks #57,920 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of preocupar vs preocuparon
Shared letters: aceopru. Private to "preocupar": -. Private to "preocuparon": n.
"preocupar" · 9 letters · shape CCVVCVCVC · "preocuparon" · 11 letters · shape CCVVCVCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- preocupar ← perocupar · ppreocupar · precoupar · preoccupar · preocpuar · preocuapr · preocuparr · preocuppar
- preocuparon ← perocuparon · ppreocuparon · precouparon · preoccuparon · preocpuaron · preocuapron · preocupaorn · preocuparno
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "preocupar" for "preocuparon" ever safe?
Frequency check: "preocupar" vs "preocuparon" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "preocupar" 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 #57,920 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "preocupar" 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 #57,920 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.