pretendavspretendesConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#22,155
“pretenda” frequency rank
#18,947
“pretendes” frequency rank
41102
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature pretenda pretendes
Definition Primera persona del singular (yo) del presente de subjuntivo de pretender. Segunda persona del singular (tú) del presente de indicativo de pretender.

Where the eye mixes pretenda and pretendes

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

8 ch
pretenda
9 ch
pretendes

Why the eye confuses pretenda with pretendes

A purely visual mix-up. pretenda ([pɾeˈt̪ẽn̪d̪a]) and pretendes ([pɾeˈt̪ẽn̪d̪es]) 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 41102, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

pretenda is recorded at frequency rank #22,155, classified as averb, pronounced [pɾeˈt̪ẽn̪d̪a]. pretendes is at rank #18,947, tagged as averb, pronounced [pɾeˈt̪ẽn̪d̪es].

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 41102, this pair ranks #155,503 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of pretenda vs pretendes

Shared letters: denprt. Private to "pretenda": a. Private to "pretendes": s.

"pretenda" · 8 letters · shape CCVCVCCV  ·  "pretendes" · 9 letters · shape CCVCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • pretenda ← pertenda · ppretenda · preetnda · pretedna · pretenad · pretendda · pretennda · pretneda
  • pretendes ← pertendes · ppretendes · preetndes · pretednes · pretenddes · pretendess · pretendse · preteneds

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "pretenda" for "pretendes" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([pɾeˈt̪ẽn̪d̪a] versus [pɾeˈt̪ẽn̪d̪es]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "pretenda" or "pretendes"?
"pretendes" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #18,947 in our Spanish list, against #22,155 for "pretenda". 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 "pretenda" and "pretendes" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "pretenda" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "pretendes" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #155,503 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "pretenda" and "pretendes" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "pretenda vs pretendas". 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 #155,503 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