pretendasvspretendeWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#43,787
“pretendas” frequency rank
#2,799
“pretende” frequency rank
46586
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature pretendas pretende
Definition Segunda persona del singular (tú) del presente de subjuntivo de pretender. Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de pretender.

Where the eye mixes pretendas and pretende

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

9 ch
pretendas
8 ch
pretende

Why the eye confuses pretendas with pretende

A purely visual mix-up. pretendas ([pɾeˈt̪ẽn̪d̪as]) and pretende ([pɾeˈt̪ẽn̪d̪e]) 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 46586, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

pretendas is recorded at frequency rank #43,787, classified as averb, pronounced [pɾeˈt̪ẽn̪d̪as]. pretende is at rank #2,799, tagged as averb, pronounced [pɾeˈt̪ẽn̪d̪e].

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 46586, this pair ranks #124,875 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of pretendas vs pretende

Shared letters: denprt. Private to "pretendas": as. Private to "pretende": -.

"pretendas" · 9 letters · shape CCVCVCCVC  ·  "pretende" · 8 letters · shape CCVCVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • pretendas ← pertendas · ppretendas · preetndas · pretednas · pretenads · pretendass · pretenddas · pretendsa
  • pretende ← pertende · ppretende · preetnde · pretedne · pretendde · pretened · pretennde · pretnede

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "pretendas" and "pretende" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([pɾeˈt̪ẽn̪d̪as] versus [pɾeˈt̪ẽn̪d̪e]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "pretendas" or "pretende"?
"pretende" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,799 in our Spanish list, against #43,787 for "pretendas". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

What to do next

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "pretendas" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "pretende" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #124,875 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "pretendas" and "pretende" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "prebendas 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 #124,875 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