sorprendavssorprendanWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#22,516
“sorprenda” frequency rank
#46,821
“sorprendan” frequency rank
69337
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature sorprenda sorprendan
Definition Primera persona del singular (yo) del presente de subjuntivo de sorprender o de sorprenderse. Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de subjuntivo de sorprender o de sorprenderse.

Where the eye mixes sorprenda and sorprendan

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 9 letters in sequence. sorprenda runs 9 letters (CVCCCVCCV) against sorprendan's 10 (CVCCCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

9 ch
sorprenda
10 ch
sorprendan

Why the eye confuses sorprenda with sorprendan

A purely visual mix-up. sorprenda ([soɾˈpɾẽn̪d̪a]) and sorprendan ([soɾˈpɾẽn̪d̪ãn]) 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 extra letter(s) - “sorprenda” sits inside “sorprendan”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 69337, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

sorprenda is recorded at frequency rank #22,516, classified as averb, pronounced [soɾˈpɾẽn̪d̪a]. sorprendan is at rank #46,821, tagged as averb, pronounced [soɾˈpɾẽn̪d̪ãn].

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 69337, this pair ranks #32,248 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of sorprenda vs sorprendan

Shared letters: adenoprs. Private to "sorprenda": -. Private to "sorprendan": -.

"sorprenda" · 9 letters · shape CVCCCVCCV  ·  "sorprendan" · 10 letters · shape CVCCCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • sorprenda ← osrprenda · soprrenda · sorpernda · sorpprenda · sorpredna · sorprenad · sorprendda · sorprennda
  • sorprendan ← osrprendan · soprrendan · sorperndan · sorpprendan · sorprednan · sorprenadn · sorprendann · sorprenddan

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "sorprenda" for "sorprendan" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([soɾˈpɾẽn̪d̪a] versus [soɾˈpɾẽn̪d̪ãn]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "sorprenda" or "sorprendan"?
"sorprenda" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #22,516 in our Spanish list, against #46,821 for "sorprendan". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Eye-level mix-up between "sorprenda" and "sorprendan" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "sorprenda" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "sorprendan" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #32,248 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "sorprenda" and "sorprendan" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "sorprendan vs sorprendía". Nearby pair
  • Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes

Confusion rank #32,248 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list