apestavsapestanWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#19,625
“apesta” frequency rank
#43,380
“apestan” frequency rank
63005
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature apesta apestan
Definition Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de apestar. Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de apestar.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set apesta and apestan apart are highlighted. They share 6 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
apesta
7 ch
apestan

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. apesta ([aˈpest̪a]) and apestan ([aˈpest̪ãn]) 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 extra letter(s) - “apesta” sits inside “apestan”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 63005, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

apesta is recorded at frequency rank #19,625, classified as averb, pronounced [aˈpest̪a]. apestan is at rank #43,380, tagged as averb, pronounced [aˈpest̪ãn].

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 63005, this pair ranks #50,154 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of apesta vs apestan

Shared letters: aepst. Private to "apesta": -. Private to "apestan": n.

"apesta" · 6 letters · shape VCVCCV  ·  "apestan" · 7 letters · shape VCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • apestaaepsta · apesat · apessta · apestta · apetsa · appesta · apseta · paesta
  • apestanaepstan · apesatn · apesstan · apestann · apestna · apesttan · apetsan · appestan

Frequency comparison

apesta#19,625
apestan#43,380

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "apesta" and "apestan" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([aˈpest̪a] versus [aˈpest̪ãn]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "apesta" or "apestan"?
"apesta" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #19,625 in our Spanish list, against #43,380 for "apestan". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering apesta vs apestan

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 “apesta” 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