Which to use
“sorprender” and “sorprendió” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #10,228
- “sorprender” frequency rank
- #6,462
- “sorprendió” frequency rank
- 16690
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | sorprender | sorprendió |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Causar sorpresa, asombro. | 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 sorprender and sorprendió
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. sorprender (CVCCCVCCVC) and sorprendió (CVCCCVCCVV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Why the eye confuses sorprender with sorprendió
A purely visual mix-up. sorprender ([soɾpɾẽn̪ˈd̪eɾ]) 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 16690, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
sorprender is recorded at frequency rank #10,228, classified as averb, pronounced [soɾpɾẽn̪ˈd̪eɾ]. 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 16690, this pair ranks #275,144 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of sorprender vs sorprendió
Shared letters: denoprs. Private to "sorprender": -. Private to "sorprendió": ió.
"sorprender" · 10 letters · shape CVCCCVCCVC · "sorprendió" · 10 letters · shape CVCCCVCCVV
Known mistypes of this pair
- sorprender ← osrprender · soprrender · sorpernder · sorpprender · sorpredner · sorprendder · sorprenderr · sorprendre
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "sorprender" for "sorprendió" ever safe?
Frequency check: "sorprender" vs "sorprendió" - which ranks higher?
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 "sorprender" 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 #275,144 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "sorprender" and "sorprendió" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "sorprender 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 #275,144 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.