recuerdavsrecuperaTell them apart

Which to use

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

#1,103
“recuerda” frequency rank
#10,207
“recupera” frequency rank
11310
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature recuerda recupera
Definition Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de recordar. Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de recuperar o de recuperarse.

Where the eye mixes recuerda and recupera

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence.

8 ch
recuerda
8 ch
recupera

Why the eye confuses recuerda with recupera

A purely visual mix-up. recuerda ([reˈkweɾð̞a]) and recupera ([rekuˈpeɾa]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 3 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 11310, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

recuerda is recorded at frequency rank #1,103, classified as averb, pronounced [reˈkweɾð̞a]. recupera is at rank #10,207, tagged as averb, pronounced [rekuˈpeɾa].

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 11310, this pair ranks #295,561 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of recuerda vs recupera

Shared letters: aceru. Private to "recuerda": d. Private to "recupera": p.

"recuerda" · 8 letters · shape CVCVVCCV  ·  "recupera" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • recuerdaercuerda · rceuerda · reccuerda · receurda · recuedra · recuerad · recuerdda · recuerrda
  • recuperaercupera · rceupera · reccupera · recpuera · recuepra · recupear · recuppera · recuprea

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "recuerda" and "recupera" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([reˈkweɾð̞a] versus [rekuˈpeɾa]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "recuerda" or "recupera"?
"recuerda" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,103 in our Spanish list, against #10,207 for "recupera". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "recuerda" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "recupera" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #295,561 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "recuerda" and "recupera" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "recupera vs recuperes". 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 #295,561 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