caístevscuesteTell them apart

Which to use

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

#32,127
“caíste” frequency rank
#10,647
“cueste” frequency rank
42774
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature caíste cueste
Definition Segunda persona del singular (tú, vos) del pretérito perfecto simple de indicativo de caer o de caerse. Primera persona del singular (yo) del presente de subjuntivo de costar.

Where the eye mixes caíste and cueste

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. caíste and cueste follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVVCCV). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.

6 ch
caíste
6 ch
cueste

Look-alike desk: caíste vs cueste

A purely visual mix-up. caíste ([kaˈist̪e]) and cueste ([ˈkwest̪e]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 42774, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

caíste is recorded at frequency rank #32,127, classified as averb, pronounced [kaˈist̪e]. cueste is at rank #10,647, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈkwest̪e].

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 42774, this pair ranks #146,363 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of caíste vs cueste

Shared letters: cest. Private to "caíste": aí. Private to "cueste": u.

"caíste" · 6 letters · shape CVVCCV  ·  "cueste" · 6 letters · shape CVVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • cueste ← ccueste · ceuste · cueset · cuesste · cuestte · cuetse · cusete · uceste

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "caíste" and "cueste" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([kaˈist̪e] versus [ˈkwest̪e]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary Spanish text, does "caíste" or "cueste" show up more?
"cueste" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #10,647 in our Spanish list, against #32,127 for "caíste". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "caíste" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "cueste" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #146,363 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "caíste" and "cueste" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "caíste vs camote". 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 #146,363 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