preocuparvspreocupoWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#16,948
“preocupar” frequency rank
#18,645
“preocupo” frequency rank
35593
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature preocupar preocupo
Definition Mantener fijo el pensamiento en un asunto o suceso negativo o perjudicial, que causa temor o inquietud. Primera persona del singular (yo) del presente de indicativo de preocupar o de preocuparse.

Where the eye mixes preocupar and preocupo

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. preocupar 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
preocupar
8 ch
preocupo

Look-alike desk: preocupar vs preocupo

A purely visual mix-up. preocupar ([pɾeokuˈpaɾ]) 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 35593, 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]. 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 35593, this pair ranks #185,235 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of preocupar vs preocupo

Shared letters: ceopru. Private to "preocupar": a. Private to "preocupo": -.

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

Known mistypes of this pair

  • preocupar ← perocupar · ppreocupar · precoupar · preoccupar · preocpuar · preocuapr · preocuparr · preocuppar
  • preocupo ← perocupo · ppreocupo · precoupo · preoccupo · preocpuo · preocuop · preocuppo · preoucpo

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "preocupar" and "preocupo" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([pɾeokuˈpaɾ] versus [pɾeoˈkupo]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "preocupar" or "preocupo"?
"preocupar" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #16,948 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.

Useful next steps

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "preocupar" 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 #185,235 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "preocupar" and "preocupo" 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 #185,235 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