sorprendanvssorprendoConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#46,821
“sorprendan” frequency rank
#43,867
“sorprendo” frequency rank
90688
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

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

Where the eye mixes sorprendan and sorprendo

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. sorprendan runs 10 letters (CVCCCVCCVC) against sorprendo's 9 (CVCCCVCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

10 ch
sorprendan
9 ch
sorprendo

Why the eye confuses sorprendan with sorprendo

A purely visual mix-up. sorprendan ([soɾˈpɾẽn̪d̪ãn]) and sorprendo ([soɾˈpɾẽn̪d̪o]) 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 90688, 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]. sorprendo is at rank #43,867, tagged as averb, pronounced [soɾˈpɾẽn̪d̪o].

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 90688, this pair ranks #2,371 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of sorprendan vs sorprendo

Shared letters: denoprs. Private to "sorprendan": a. Private to "sorprendo": -.

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

Known mistypes of this pair

  • sorprendan ← osrprendan · soprrendan · sorperndan · sorpprendan · sorprednan · sorprenadn · sorprendann · sorprenddan
  • sorprendo ← osrprendo · soprrendo · sorperndo · sorpprendo · sorpredno · sorprenddo · sorprenndo · sorprenod

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "sorprendan" for "sorprendo" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([soɾˈpɾẽn̪d̪ãn] versus [soɾˈpɾẽn̪d̪o]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "sorprendan" vs "sorprendo" - which ranks higher?
"sorprendo" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #43,867 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.

Useful next steps

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "sorprendan" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "sorprendo" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #2,371 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "sorprendan" and "sorprendo" 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 #2,371 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