trabajanvstrabajéWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#2,750
“trabajan” frequency rank
#12,497
“trabajé” frequency rank
15247
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature trabajan trabajé
Definition Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de trabajar. Primera persona del singular (yo) del pretérito perfecto simple de indicativo de trabajar.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set trabajan and trabajé apart are highlighted. They share 6 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

8 ch
trabajan
7 ch
trabajé

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. trabajan ([t̪ɾaˈβ̞axãn]) and trabajé ([t̪ɾaβ̞aˈxe]) 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 15247, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

trabajan is recorded at frequency rank #2,750, classified as averb, pronounced [t̪ɾaˈβ̞axãn]. trabajé is at rank #12,497, tagged as averb, pronounced [t̪ɾaβ̞aˈxe].

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 15247, this pair ranks #280,957 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of trabajan vs trabajé

Shared letters: abjrt. Private to "trabajan": n. Private to "trabajé": é.

"trabajan" · 8 letters · shape CCVCVCVC  ·  "trabajé" · 7 letters · shape CCVCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • trabajanrtabajan · tarbajan · traabjan · trabaajn · trabajann · trabajjan · trabajna · trabbajan

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "trabajan" and "trabajé" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([t̪ɾaˈβ̞axãn] versus [t̪ɾaβ̞aˈxe]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "trabajan" or "trabajé"?
"trabajan" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,750 in our Spanish list, against #12,497 for "trabajé". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list