Which to use
“pueden” and “puedes” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #169
- “pueden” frequency rank
- #298
- “puedes” frequency rank
- 467
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | pueden | puedes |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de poder. | Segunda persona del singular (tú) del presente de indicativo de poder. |
Where the eye mixes pueden and puedes
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between pueden and puedes
A purely visual mix-up. pueden ([ˈpweð̞ẽn]) and puedes ([ˈpweð̞es]) 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 - n in “pueden” becomes s in “puedes”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 467, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
pueden is recorded at frequency rank #169, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈpweð̞ẽn]. puedes is at rank #298, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈpweð̞es].
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 467, this pair ranks #323,385 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of pueden vs puedes
Shared letters: depu. Private to "pueden": n. Private to "puedes": s.
"pueden" · 6 letters · shape CVVCVC · "puedes" · 6 letters · shape CVVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "pueden" and "puedes" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary Spanish text, does "pueden" or "puedes" show up more?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "pueden" and "puedes" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "pueden" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "puedes" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #323,385 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "pueden" and "puedes" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "prendes vs puedes". 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 #323,385 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.