secanvssepanWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#39,455
“secan” frequency rank
#4,836
“sepan” frequency rank
44291
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature secan sepan
Definition Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de secar. Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de subjuntivo de saber.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set secan and sepan apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
secan
5 ch
sepan

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. secan ([ˈsekãn]) and sepan ([ˈsepãn]) 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 - c in “secan” becomes p in “sepan”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 44291, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

secan is recorded at frequency rank #39,455, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈsekãn]. sepan is at rank #4,836, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈsepãn].

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 44291, this pair ranks #137,888 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of secan vs sepan

Shared letters: aens. Private to "secan": c. Private to "sepan": p.

"secan" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC  ·  "sepan" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • secancecan · escan · scean · seacn · secann · seccan · secna · ssecan
  • sepancepan · espan · seapn · sepann · sepna · seppan · spean · ssepan

Frequency comparison

secan#39,455
sepan#4,836

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "secan" and "sepan" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈsekãn] versus [ˈsepãn]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "secan" or "sepan"?
"sepan" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #4,836 in our Spanish list, against #39,455 for "secan". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering secan vs sepan

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “secan” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list