señalévssepareWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#46,808
“señalé” frequency rank
#22,185
“separe” frequency rank
68993
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature señalé separe
Definition Primera persona del singular (yo) del pretérito perfecto simple de indicativo de señalar. Primera persona del singular (yo) del presente de subjuntivo de separar o de separarse.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set señalé and separe apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
señalé
6 ch
separe

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. señalé ([seɲaˈle]) and separe ([seˈpaɾe]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 3 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 68993, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

señalé is recorded at frequency rank #46,808, classified as averb, pronounced [seɲaˈle]. separe is at rank #22,185, tagged as averb, pronounced [seˈpaɾe].

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 68993, this pair ranks #33,124 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of señalé vs separe

Shared letters: aes. Private to "señalé": léñ. Private to "separe": pr.

"señalé" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV  ·  "separe" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • separecepare · espare · seapre · sepaer · separre · seppare · seprae · speare

Frequency comparison

señalé#46,808
separe#22,185

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "señalé" and "separe" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([seɲaˈle] versus [seˈpaɾe]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "señalé" or "separe"?
"separe" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #22,185 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 señalé vs separe

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 “señalé” 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