usted
[usˈt̪eð̞]
The verdict
“usted” is in the everyday core of Spanish, ranked #405 in Spanish word frequency and used as a pronoun.
- #405
- frequency rank, Spanish
- 5
- letters
- 7
- tracked misspellings
- 6
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Forma de segunda persona, usada como tratamiento de respeto, cortesía o distanciamiento, tanto para el masculino como para el femenino en los casos nominativo, dativo y ablativo. Al usarlo, los ver...
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | usted |
| Language | Spanish |
| Part of speech | Pronoun |
| IPA | [usˈt̪eð̞] |
| Letters | 5 |
| Frequency rank | #405 |
| Misspellings tracked | 7 |
| Confusable pairs | 6 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “usted” sits in Spanish frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The Spanish entry for usted is 5 letters long, classified as a pronoun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as [usˈt̪eð̞]. Corpus data places it at rank #405 in overall Spanish word frequency, putting it firmly in the everyday core of the language. Wiktionary records 2 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 7 likely wrong-spelling variants for usted, with forms such as "suted", "usetd", and "ussted". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 6 confusable-pair relationships, "ustedes", "use", "usen", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.
This entry carries no recorded etymology, so its spelling is easiest explained by how it's pronounced rather than where it came from. The correct Spanish form is usted, spelled U-S-T-E-D.
Definition
- 1Forma de segunda persona, usada como tratamiento de respeto, cortesía o distanciamiento, tanto para el masculino como para el femenino en los casos nominativo, dativo y ablativo. Al usarlo, los verbos se conjugan en tercera persona singular.
- 2Forma de segunda persona informal usada en lugar de tú o vos, sin distinción de respeto, cortesía o familiaridad.
Synonyms
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: suted,usetd,ussted,ustde,ustedd,ustted,utsed
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of usted - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 Spanish corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Using “usted”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct Spanish spelling is U-S-T-E-D - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as [usˈt̪eð̞] (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “ustedes” - see the side-by-side comparison. usted vs ustedes
- Browse more Spanish words and confusable pairs in the same reference. Spanish words
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.