Which to use
“trabajar” and “trabajen” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #518
- “trabajar” frequency rank
- #12,727
- “trabajen” frequency rank
- 13245
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | trabajar | trabajen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Realizar una actividad sea física o mental. | Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de subjuntivo de trabajar. |
Where the eye mixes trabajar and trabajen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. trabajar and trabajen follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CCVCVCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Why the eye confuses trabajar with trabajen
A purely visual mix-up. trabajar ([t̪ɾaβ̞aˈxaɾ]) 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 share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 13245, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
trabajar is recorded at frequency rank #518, classified as averb, pronounced [t̪ɾaβ̞aˈxaɾ]. 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 13245, this pair ranks #288,551 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of trabajar vs trabajen
Shared letters: abjrt. Private to "trabajar": -. Private to "trabajen": en.
"trabajar" · 8 letters · shape CCVCVCVC · "trabajen" · 8 letters · shape CCVCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "trabajar" and "trabajen" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "trabajar" or "trabajen"?
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 "trabajar" 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 #288,551 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "trabajar" and "trabajen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "trabada vs trabajar". 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 #288,551 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.