Which to use
“hasta” and “hasten” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #49,380
- “hasta” frequency rank
- #31,591
- “hasten” frequency rank
- 80971
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | hasta | hasten |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | third-person singular simple present indicative of hafta: Contraction of has to (“is required to”). | To move or act in a quick fashion. |
Where the eye mixes hasta and hasten
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. hasta runs 5 letters (CVCCV) against hasten's 6 (CVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between hasta and hasten
A purely visual mix-up. hasta (/ˈhæstə/) and hasten (/ˈheɪ.sn̩/) 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 80971, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
hasta is recorded at frequency rank #49,380, classified as averb, pronounced /ˈhæstə/. hasten is at rank #31,591, tagged as averb, pronounced /ˈheɪ.sn̩/.
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 80971, this pair ranks #18,700 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of hasta vs hasten
Shared letters: ahst. Private to "hasta": -. Private to "hasten": en.
"hasta" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV · "hasten" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "hasta" for "hasten" ever safe?
Frequency check: "hasta" vs "hasten" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "hasta" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "hasten" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #18,700 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "hasta" and "hasten" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "hasta vs Hosea". 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 #18,700 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.