asustabavsasustarTell them apart

Which to use

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

#46,944
“asustaba” frequency rank
#16,268
“asustar” frequency rank
63212
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature asustaba asustar
Definition Primera persona del singular (yo) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de asustar o de asustarse. Dar un susto.

Where the eye mixes asustaba and asustar

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. asustaba runs 8 letters (VCVCCVCV) against asustar's 7 (VCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

8 ch
asustaba
7 ch
asustar

Visual trap between asustaba and asustar

A purely visual mix-up. asustaba ([asusˈt̪aβ̞a]) 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 differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 63212, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

asustaba is recorded at frequency rank #46,944, classified as averb, pronounced [asusˈt̪aβ̞a]. 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 63212, this pair ranks #49,450 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of asustaba vs asustar

Shared letters: astu. Private to "asustaba": b. Private to "asustar": r.

"asustaba" · 8 letters · shape VCVCCVCV  ·  "asustar" · 7 letters · shape VCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • asustaba ← assustaba · assutaba · asusatba · asusstaba · asustaab · asustabba · asustava · asustbaa
  • asustar ← assustar · assutar · asusatr · asusstar · asustarr · asustra · asusttar · asutsar

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "asustaba" for "asustar" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([asusˈt̪aβ̞a] versus [asusˈt̪aɾ]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "asustaba" or "asustar"?
"asustar" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #16,268 in our Spanish list, against #46,944 for "asustaba". 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 "asustaba" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "asustar" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #49,450 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "asustaba" and "asustar" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "acusaba vs asustaba". 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 #49,450 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