relación vs relacionan, What's the Difference?

Which to use

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

#473
“relación” frequency rank: #13,780
“relacionan” frequency rank: 14253
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	relación	relacionan
Definition	Una conexión existente entre personas o cosas.	Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de relacionar o de relacionarse.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set relación and relacionan apart are highlighted. They share 7 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

8 ch

relación

10 ch

relacionan

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

relación and relacionan 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 2 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 14253, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

relación is recorded at frequency rank #473, classified as anoun, pronounced [relaˈsjõn]. relacionan is at rank #13,780, tagged as averb, pronounced [relaˈsjonãn].

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 14253, this pair ranks #284,837 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Frequency comparison

relación#473

relacionan#13,780

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "relación" and "relacionan" be used interchangeably?

No, "relación" and "relacionan" have distinct meanings and cannot be swapped without changing the meaning of a sentence. Understanding the specific definition and context for each word is essential for correct usage.

Remembering relación vs relacionan

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “relación”; for a verb, it's “relacionan”.
See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “relación” entry
Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable