Which to use
“cesta” is a noun and “costar” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #16,530
- “cesta” frequency rank
- #10,475
- “costar” frequency rank
- 27005
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | cesta | costar |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Recipiente tejido de mimbre, esparto o material similar. | Tener un valor en dinero. |
Where the eye mixes cesta and costar
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. cesta runs 5 letters (CVCCV) against costar's 6 (CVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between cesta and costar
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: cesta is [ˈsest̪a] while costar is [kosˈt̪aɾ]. 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 (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 27005, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
cesta is recorded at frequency rank #16,530, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈsest̪a]. costar is at rank #10,475, tagged as averb, pronounced [kosˈt̪aɾ].
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 27005, this pair ranks #228,888 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of cesta vs costar
Shared letters: acst. Private to "cesta": e. Private to "costar": or.
"cesta" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV · "costar" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "cesta" and "costar" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary Spanish text, does "cesta" or "costar" show up more?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "cesta" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "costar" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #228,888 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "cesta" and "costar" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "ceba vs cesta". 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 #228,888 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.