arrestarvsarrestosWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: arrestar is a verb, arrestos is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“arrestar” is a verb and “arrestos” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#15,776
“arrestar” frequency rank
#21,228
“arrestos” frequency rank
37004
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature arrestar arrestos
Definition Poner preso. Forma del plural de arresto.

Where the spellings diverge

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

8 ch
arrestar
8 ch
arrestos

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: arrestar is [aresˈt̪aɾ] while arrestos is [aˈrest̪os]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 37004, 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]. arrestos is at rank #21,228, tagged as anoun, pronounced [aˈrest̪os].

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 37004, this pair ranks #177,647 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of arrestar vs arrestos

Shared letters: aerst. Private to "arrestar": -. Private to "arrestos": o.

"arrestar" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCCVC  ·  "arrestos" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • arrestararerstar · arestar · arresatr · arresstar · arrestarr · arrestra · arresttar · arretsar
  • arrestosarerstos · arestos · arresots · arresstos · arrestoss · arrestso · arresttos · arretsos

Frequency comparison

arrestar#15,776
arrestos#21,228

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "arrestar" and "arrestos" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "arrestar" is a verb and "arrestos" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "arrestar" or "arrestos"?
"arrestar" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #15,776 in our Spanish list, against #21,228 for "arrestos". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering arrestar vs arrestos

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “arrestar”; for a noun, it's “arrestos”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “arrestar” 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