señalarvsseñaléWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#4,552
“señalar” frequency rank
#46,808
“señalé” frequency rank
51360
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature señalar señalé
Definition Poner alguna señal o marca en alguna cosa. 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 señalar and señalé apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

7 ch
señalar
6 ch
señalé

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. señalar ([seɲaˈlaɾ]) 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 51360, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

señalar is recorded at frequency rank #4,552, classified as averb, pronounced [seɲaˈlaɾ]. 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 51360, this pair ranks #98,277 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of señalar vs señalé

Shared letters: aelsñ. Private to "señalar": r. Private to "señalé": é.

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

Frequency comparison

señalar#4,552
señalé#46,808

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "señalar" and "señalé" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([seɲaˈlaɾ] versus [seɲaˈle]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "señalar" or "señalé"?
"señalar" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #4,552 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 señalar 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 “señalar” 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