Which to use
“preocupar” and “preocupen” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #16,948
- “preocupar” frequency rank
- #16,424
- “preocupen” frequency rank
- 33372
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | preocupar | preocupen |
|---|---|---|
| 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 presente de subjuntivo de preocupar o de preocuparse. |
Where the eye mixes preocupar and preocupen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: preocupar vs preocupen
A purely visual mix-up. preocupar ([pɾeokuˈpaɾ]) and preocupen ([pɾeoˈkupẽn]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 33372, 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]. preocupen is at rank #16,424, tagged as averb, pronounced [pɾeoˈkupẽn].
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 33372, this pair ranks #197,138 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of preocupar vs preocupen
Shared letters: ceopru. Private to "preocupar": a. Private to "preocupen": n.
"preocupar" · 9 letters · shape CCVVCVCVC · "preocupen" · 9 letters · shape CCVVCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "preocupar" and "preocupen" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary Spanish text, does "preocupar" or "preocupen" show up more?
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 "preocupen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #197,138 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "preocupar" and "preocupen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "preocupar 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 #197,138 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.