Which to use
“sorprenden” and “sorprendió” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #20,520
- “sorprenden” frequency rank
- #6,462
- “sorprendió” frequency rank
- 26982
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | sorprenden | sorprendió |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo 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 sorprenden and sorprendió
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. sorprenden (CVCCCVCCVC) and sorprendió (CVCCCVCCVV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Visual trap between sorprenden and sorprendió
A purely visual mix-up. sorprenden ([soɾˈpɾẽn̪d̪ẽn]) 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 share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 26982, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
sorprenden is recorded at frequency rank #20,520, classified as averb, pronounced [soɾˈpɾẽn̪d̪ẽn]. 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 26982, this pair ranks #228,977 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of sorprenden vs sorprendió
Shared letters: denoprs. Private to "sorprenden": -. Private to "sorprendió": ió.
"sorprenden" · 10 letters · shape CVCCCVCCVC · "sorprendió" · 10 letters · shape CVCCCVCCVV
Known mistypes of this pair
- sorprenden ← osrprenden · soprrenden · sorpernden · sorpprenden · sorprednen · sorprendden · sorprendenn · sorprendne
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "sorprenden" and "sorprendió" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary Spanish text, does "sorprenden" or "sorprendió" show up more?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "sorprenden" 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 #228,977 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "sorprenden" and "sorprendió" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "sorprenden 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 #228,977 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.