señalanvsseñaléWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#7,360
“señalan” frequency rank
#46,808
“señalé” frequency rank
54168
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature señalan señalé
Definition Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 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 señalan and señalé apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

7 ch
señalan
6 ch
señalé

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. señalan ([seˈɲalãn]) 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 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 54168, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

señalan is recorded at frequency rank #7,360, classified as averb, pronounced [seˈɲalãn]. 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 54168, this pair ranks #84,529 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of señalan vs señalé

Shared letters: aelsñ. Private to "señalan": n. Private to "señalé": é.

"señalan" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC  ·  "señalé" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV

Frequency comparison

señalan#7,360
señalé#46,808

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "señalan" and "señalé" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([seˈɲalãn] versus [seɲaˈle]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "señalan" or "señalé"?
"señalan" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #7,360 in our Spanish list, against #46,808 for "señalé". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering señalan 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 “señalan” 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