aguantanvsaguantandoWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#24,366
“aguantan” frequency rank
#21,211
“aguantando” frequency rank
45577
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature aguantan aguantando
Definition Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de aguantar o de aguantarse. Gerundio de aguantar.

Where the eye mixes aguantan and aguantando

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. aguantan runs 8 letters (VCVVCCVC) against aguantando's 10 (VCVVCCVCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

8 ch
aguantan
10 ch
aguantando

Visual trap between aguantan and aguantando

A purely visual mix-up. aguantan ([aˈɣ̞wãn̪t̪ãn]) and aguantando ([aɣ̞wãn̪ˈt̪ãn̪d̪o]) 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 2 extra letter(s) - “aguantan” sits inside “aguantando”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 45577, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

aguantan is recorded at frequency rank #24,366, classified as averb, pronounced [aˈɣ̞wãn̪t̪ãn]. aguantando is at rank #21,211, tagged as averb, pronounced [aɣ̞wãn̪ˈt̪ãn̪d̪o].

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 45577, this pair ranks #130,658 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of aguantan vs aguantando

Shared letters: agntu. Private to "aguantan": -. Private to "aguantando": do.

"aguantan" · 8 letters · shape VCVVCCVC  ·  "aguantando" · 10 letters · shape VCVVCCVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • aguantanagauntan · agguantan · aguanatn · aguanntan · aguantann · aguantna · aguanttan · aguatnan
  • aguantandoagauntando · agguantando · aguanatndo · aguanntando · aguantadno · aguantanddo · aguantanndo · aguantanod

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "aguantan" and "aguantando" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([aˈɣ̞wãn̪t̪ãn] versus [aɣ̞wãn̪ˈt̪ãn̪d̪o]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "aguantan" vs "aguantando" - which ranks higher?
"aguantando" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #21,211 in our Spanish list, against #24,366 for "aguantan". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "aguantan" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "aguantando" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #130,658 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "aguantan" and "aguantando" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "aguantando vs aguardando". 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 #130,658 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list