Which to use
“sorprenda” and “sorprendió” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #22,516
- “sorprenda” frequency rank
- #6,462
- “sorprendió” frequency rank
- 28978
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | sorprenda | sorprendió |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Primera persona del singular (yo) del presente de subjuntivo de sorprender o de sorprenderse. | Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del pretérito perfecto simple de indicativo de sorprender o de sorprenderse. |
Where the eye mixes sorprenda and sorprendió
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. sorprenda runs 9 letters (CVCCCVCCV) against sorprendió's 10 (CVCCCVCCVV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses sorprenda with sorprendió
A purely visual mix-up. sorprenda ([soɾˈpɾẽn̪d̪a]) and sorprendió ([soɾpɾẽn̪ˈd̪jo]) 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 28978, 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]. sorprendió is at rank #6,462, tagged as averb, pronounced [soɾpɾẽn̪ˈd̪jo].
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 28978, this pair ranks #219,304 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of sorprenda vs sorprendió
Shared letters: denoprs. Private to "sorprenda": a. Private to "sorprendió": ió.
"sorprenda" · 9 letters · shape CVCCCVCCV · "sorprendió" · 10 letters · shape CVCCCVCCVV
Known mistypes of this pair
- sorprenda ← osrprenda · soprrenda · sorpernda · sorpprenda · sorpredna · sorprenad · sorprendda · sorprennda
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "sorprenda" for "sorprendió" ever safe?
Which is more common, "sorprenda" or "sorprendió"?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "sorprenda" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "sorprendió" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #219,304 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "sorprenda" and "sorprendió" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "sorprenda 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 #219,304 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.