trabajavstrabajenWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#1,460
“trabaja” frequency rank
#12,727
“trabajen” frequency rank
14187
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature trabaja trabajen
Definition Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de trabajar. Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de subjuntivo de trabajar.

Where the eye mixes trabaja and trabajen

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. trabaja runs 7 letters (CCVCVCV) against trabajen's 8 (CCVCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

7 ch
trabaja
8 ch
trabajen

Visual trap between trabaja and trabajen

A purely visual mix-up. trabaja ([t̪ɾaˈβ̞axa]) and trabajen ([t̪ɾaˈβ̞axẽn]) 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 14187, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

trabaja is recorded at frequency rank #1,460, classified as averb, pronounced [t̪ɾaˈβ̞axa]. trabajen is at rank #12,727, tagged as averb, pronounced [t̪ɾaˈβ̞axẽn].

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 14187, this pair ranks #285,095 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of trabaja vs trabajen

Shared letters: abjrt. Private to "trabaja": -. Private to "trabajen": en.

"trabaja" · 7 letters · shape CCVCVCV  ·  "trabajen" · 8 letters · shape CCVCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • trabaja ← rtabaja · tarbaja · traabja · trabaaj · trabajja · trabbaja · trabjaa · travaja
  • trabajen ← rtabajen · tarbajen · traabjen · trabaejn · trabajenn · trabajjen · trabajne · trabbajen

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "trabaja" and "trabajen" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([t̪ɾaˈβ̞axa] versus [t̪ɾaˈβ̞axẽn]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "trabaja" vs "trabajen" - which ranks higher?
"trabaja" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,460 in our Spanish list, against #12,727 for "trabajen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Eye-level mix-up between "trabaja" and "trabajen" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "trabaja" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "trabajen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #285,095 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "trabaja" and "trabajen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "trabada vs trabaja". 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 #285,095 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