señala vs señalé, What's the Difference?

Which to use

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

#2,637
“señala” frequency rank: #46,808
“señalé” frequency rank: 49445
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	señala	señalé
Definition	Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de señalar.	Primera persona del singular (yo) del pretérito perfecto simple de indicativo de señalar.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set señala and señalé apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch

señala

6 ch

señalé

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. señala ([seˈɲala]) and señalé ([seɲaˈle]) 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 - a in “señala” becomes é in “señalé”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 49445, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

señala is recorded at frequency rank #2,637, classified as averb, pronounced [seˈɲala]. señalé is at rank #46,808, tagged as averb, pronounced [seɲaˈle].

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 49445, this pair ranks #108,840 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of señala vs señalé

Shared letters: aelsñ. Private to "señala": -. Private to "señalé": é.

"señala" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV · "señalé" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV

Frequency comparison

señala#2,637

señalé#46,808

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "señala" and "señalé" be used interchangeably?

No. They are said differently ([seˈɲala] versus [seɲaˈle]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.

Which is more common, "señala" or "señalé"?

"señala" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,637 in our Spanish list, against #46,808 for "señalé". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering señala vs señalé

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 “señala” entry
Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable