Which to use
“puede” is a verb and “pues” is a conjunction - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #60
- “puede” frequency rank
- #170
- “pues” frequency rank
- 230
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | puede | pues |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de poder. | Partícula que sirve en la oración de nota de quien se resuelve alguna cosa o se afirma sobre lo que discurre o va a discurrir. Regularmente se pospone en este sentido a la primera palabra de la oración.. |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set puede and pues apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
puede and pues form a confusable pair in the Spanish index, two distinct headwords that are easily confused because they look alike, sound alike, or both. They differ by 1 letter(s) in length - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 230, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
puede is recorded at frequency rank #60, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈpweð̞e]. pues is at rank #170, tagged as aconj, pronounced [ˈpwes].
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 230, this pair ranks #323,641 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "puede" and "pues" be used interchangeably?
Remembering puede vs pues
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “puede”; for a conjunction, it's “pues”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “puede” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable