Which to use
“pretender” and “pretendes” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #9,023
- “pretender” frequency rank
- #18,947
- “pretendes” frequency rank
- 27970
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | pretender | pretendes |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Hacer diligencias o esfuerzos para conseguir lo que se desea. | Segunda persona del singular (tú) del presente de indicativo de pretender. |
Where the eye mixes pretender and pretendes
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. pretender and pretendes follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CCVCVCCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Why the eye confuses pretender with pretendes
A purely visual mix-up. pretender ([pɾet̪ẽn̪ˈd̪eɾ]) 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 a single letter - r in “pretender” becomes s in “pretendes”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 27970, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
pretender is recorded at frequency rank #9,023, classified as averb, pronounced [pɾet̪ẽn̪ˈd̪eɾ]. 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 27970, this pair ranks #224,292 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of pretender vs pretendes
Shared letters: denprt. Private to "pretender": -. Private to "pretendes": s.
"pretender" · 9 letters · shape CCVCVCCVC · "pretendes" · 9 letters · shape CCVCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "pretender" for "pretendes" ever safe?
Which is more common, "pretender" or "pretendes"?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "pretender" 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 #224,292 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "pretender" and "pretendes" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "pretendas vs pretendes". 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 #224,292 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.