acostarvsasustarWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#25,508
“acostar” frequency rank
#16,268
“asustar” frequency rank
41776
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature acostar asustar
Definition Echar o tender a alguno para que duerma o descanse, y con especialidad en la cama. Dar un susto.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set acostar and asustar apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

7 ch
acostar
7 ch
asustar

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. acostar ([akosˈt̪aɾ]) and asustar ([asusˈt̪aɾ]) 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 41776, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

acostar is recorded at frequency rank #25,508, classified as averb, pronounced [akosˈt̪aɾ]. asustar is at rank #16,268, tagged as averb, pronounced [asusˈt̪aɾ].

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 41776, this pair ranks #151,854 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of acostar vs asustar

Shared letters: arst. Private to "acostar": co. Private to "asustar": u.

"acostar" · 7 letters · shape VCVCCVC  ·  "asustar" · 7 letters · shape VCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • acostaraccostar · acosatr · acosstar · acostarr · acostra · acosttar · acotsar · acsotar
  • asustarassustar · assutar · asusatr · asusstar · asustarr · asustra · asusttar · asutsar

Frequency comparison

acostar#25,508
asustar#16,268

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "acostar" and "asustar" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([akosˈt̪aɾ] versus [asusˈt̪aɾ]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "acostar" or "asustar"?
"asustar" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #16,268 in our Spanish list, against #25,508 for "acostar". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering acostar vs asustar

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “acostar” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list