recompensarvsrecompensasWhich spelling fits?

Quick tell: recompensar is a verb, recompensas is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“recompensar” is a verb and “recompensas” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#36,253
“recompensar” frequency rank
#15,948
“recompensas” frequency rank
52201
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature recompensar recompensas
Definition Compensar, satisfacer o remunerar un beneficio, favor, virtud, mérito o servicio. Forma del plural de recompensa.

Where the eye mixes recompensar and recompensas

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 10 letters in sequence. recompensar and recompensas follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCVCCVCCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.

11 ch
recompensar
11 ch
recompensas

Why the eye confuses recompensar with recompensas

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: recompensar is [rekõmpẽnˈsaɾ] while recompensas is [rekõmˈpẽnsas]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - r in “recompensar” becomes s in “recompensas”, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 52201, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

recompensar is recorded at frequency rank #36,253, classified as averb, pronounced [rekõmpẽnˈsaɾ]. recompensas is at rank #15,948, tagged as anoun, pronounced [rekõmˈpẽnsas].

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 52201, this pair ranks #93,901 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of recompensar vs recompensas

Shared letters: acemnoprs. Private to "recompensar": -. Private to "recompensas": -.

"recompensar" · 11 letters · shape CVCVCCVCCVC  ·  "recompensas" · 11 letters · shape CVCVCCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • recompensarercompensar · rceompensar · reccompensar · recmopensar · recomepnsar · recommpensar · recompenasr · recompennsar
  • recompensasercompensas · rceompensas · reccompensas · recmopensas · recomepnsas · recommpensas · recompenass · recompennsas

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "recompensar" and "recompensas" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "recompensar" is a verb and "recompensas" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
In ordinary Spanish text, does "recompensar" or "recompensas" show up more?
"recompensas" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #15,948 in our Spanish list, against #36,253 for "recompensar". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "recompensar" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "recompensas" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #93,901 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "recompensar" and "recompensas" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "recompensado vs recompensar". 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 #93,901 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