Which to use
“sorprendan” and “sorprender” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #46,821
- “sorprendan” frequency rank
- #10,228
- “sorprender” frequency rank
- 57049
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | sorprendan | sorprender |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de subjuntivo de sorprender o de sorprenderse. | Causar sorpresa, asombro. |
Where the eye mixes sorprendan and sorprender
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. sorprendan and sorprender follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCCCVCCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Look-alike desk: sorprendan vs sorprender
A purely visual mix-up. sorprendan ([soɾˈpɾẽn̪d̪ãn]) and sorprender ([soɾpɾẽn̪ˈd̪eɾ]) 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 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 57049, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
sorprendan is recorded at frequency rank #46,821, classified as averb, pronounced [soɾˈpɾẽn̪d̪ãn]. sorprender is at rank #10,228, tagged as averb, pronounced [soɾpɾẽn̪ˈd̪eɾ].
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 57049, this pair ranks #72,076 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of sorprendan vs sorprender
Shared letters: denoprs. Private to "sorprendan": a. Private to "sorprender": -.
"sorprendan" · 10 letters · shape CVCCCVCCVC · "sorprender" · 10 letters · shape CVCCCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- sorprendan ← osrprendan · soprrendan · sorperndan · sorpprendan · sorprednan · sorprenadn · sorprendann · sorprenddan
- sorprender ← osrprender · soprrender · sorpernder · sorpprender · sorpredner · sorprendder · sorprenderr · sorprendre
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "sorprendan" and "sorprender" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "sorprendan" or "sorprender"?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "sorprendan" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "sorprender" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #72,076 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "sorprendan" and "sorprender" 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 #72,076 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.