Which to use
“arrestar” and “arrestaron” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #15,776
- “arrestar” frequency rank
- #18,156
- “arrestaron” frequency rank
- 33932
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | arrestar | arrestaron |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Poner preso. | Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del pretérito perfecto simple de indicativo de arrestar o de arrestarse. |
Where the eye mixes arrestar and arrestaron
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. arrestar runs 8 letters (VCCVCCVC) against arrestaron's 10 (VCCVCCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses arrestar with arrestaron
A purely visual mix-up. arrestar ([aresˈt̪aɾ]) and arrestaron ([aresˈt̪aɾõn]) 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) - “arrestar” sits inside “arrestaron”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 33932, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
arrestar is recorded at frequency rank #15,776, classified as averb, pronounced [aresˈt̪aɾ]. arrestaron is at rank #18,156, tagged as averb, pronounced [aresˈt̪aɾõn].
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 33932, this pair ranks #194,125 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of arrestar vs arrestaron
Shared letters: aerst. Private to "arrestar": -. Private to "arrestaron": no.
"arrestar" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCCVC · "arrestaron" · 10 letters · shape VCCVCCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- arrestar ← arerstar · arestar · arresatr · arresstar · arrestarr · arrestra · arresttar · arretsar
- arrestaron ← arerstaron · arestaron · arresatron · arresstaron · arrestaorn · arrestarno · arrestaronn · arrestarron
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "arrestar" for "arrestaron" ever safe?
Which is more common, "arrestar" or "arrestaron"?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "arrestar" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "arrestaron" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #194,125 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "arrestar" and "arrestaron" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "arrebataron vs arrestaron". 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 #194,125 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.