bastarvsbasteConfusable pair

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

Which to use

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

#38,524
“bastar” frequency rank
#43,417
“baste” frequency rank
81941
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature bastar baste
Definition Ser suficiente y proporcionado para alguna cosa. Especie de almohadilla que lleva la silla de montar o la albarda en su parte inferior para evitar roces con la caballería.

Where the eye mixes bastar and baste

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. bastar runs 6 letters (CVCCVC) against baste's 5 (CVCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

6 ch
bastar
5 ch
baste

Why the eye confuses bastar with baste

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: bastar is [basˈt̪aɾ] while baste is [ˈbast̪e]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 81941, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

bastar is recorded at frequency rank #38,524, classified as averb, pronounced [basˈt̪aɾ]. baste is at rank #43,417, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈbast̪e].

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 81941, this pair ranks #9,802 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of bastar vs baste

Shared letters: abst. Private to "bastar": r. Private to "baste": e.

"bastar" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC  ·  "baste" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • bastar ← abstar · basatr · basstar · bastarr · bastra · basttar · batsar · bbastar
  • baste ← abste · baset · basste · bastte · bbaste · bsate · vaste

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "bastar" and "baste" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "bastar" is a verb and "baste" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Frequency check: "bastar" vs "baste" - which ranks higher?
"bastar" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #38,524 in our Spanish list, against #43,417 for "baste". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Eye-level mix-up between "bastar" and "baste" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "bastar" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "baste" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #9,802 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "bastar" and "baste" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "bane vs baste". 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 #9,802 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