recuerdanvsrecuperanTell them apart

Which to use

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

#5,662
“recuerdan” frequency rank
#25,424
“recuperan” frequency rank
31086
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature recuerdan recuperan
Definition Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de recordar. Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de recuperar o de recuperarse.

Where the eye mixes recuerdan and recuperan

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. recuerdan (CVCVVCCVC) and recuperan (CVCVCVCVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.

9 ch
recuerdan
9 ch
recuperan

Visual trap between recuerdan and recuperan

A purely visual mix-up. recuerdan ([reˈkweɾð̞ãn]) and recuperan ([rekuˈpeɾãn]) 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 31086, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

recuerdan is recorded at frequency rank #5,662, classified as averb, pronounced [reˈkweɾð̞ãn]. recuperan is at rank #25,424, tagged as averb, pronounced [rekuˈpeɾãn].

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 31086, this pair ranks #208,850 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of recuerdan vs recuperan

Shared letters: acenru. Private to "recuerdan": d. Private to "recuperan": p.

"recuerdan" · 9 letters · shape CVCVVCCVC  ·  "recuperan" · 9 letters · shape CVCVCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • recuerdanercuerdan · rceuerdan · reccuerdan · receurdan · recuedran · recueradn · recuerdann · recuerddan
  • recuperanercuperan · rceuperan · reccuperan · recpueran · recuepran · recupearn · recuperann · recuperna

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "recuerdan" for "recuperan" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([reˈkweɾð̞ãn] versus [rekuˈpeɾãn]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "recuerdan" vs "recuperan" - which ranks higher?
"recuerdan" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #5,662 in our Spanish list, against #25,424 for "recuperan". 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 "recuerdan" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "recuperan" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #208,850 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "recuerdan" and "recuperan" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "recuperan 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 #208,850 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