cuelganvscuestanTell them apart

Which to use

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

#20,634
“cuelgan” frequency rank
#13,010
“cuestan” frequency rank
33644
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature cuelgan cuestan
Definition Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de colgar o de colgarse. Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de costar.

Where the eye mixes cuelgan and cuestan

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. cuelgan and cuestan follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVVCCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.

7 ch
cuelgan
7 ch
cuestan

Look-alike desk: cuelgan vs cuestan

A purely visual mix-up. cuelgan ([ˈkwelɣ̞ãn]) and cuestan ([ˈkwest̪ãn]) 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 33644, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

cuelgan is recorded at frequency rank #20,634, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈkwelɣ̞ãn]. cuestan is at rank #13,010, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈkwest̪ãn].

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 33644, this pair ranks #195,698 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of cuelgan vs cuestan

Shared letters: acenu. Private to "cuelgan": gl. Private to "cuestan": st.

"cuelgan" · 7 letters · shape CVVCCVC  ·  "cuestan" · 7 letters · shape CVVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • cuelganccuelgan · ceulgan · cueglan · cuelagn · cuelgann · cuelggan · cuelgna · cuellgan
  • cuestanccuestan · ceustan · cuesatn · cuesstan · cuestann · cuestna · cuesttan · cuetsan

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "cuelgan" and "cuestan" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ˈkwelɣ̞ãn] versus [ˈkwest̪ãn]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "cuelgan" vs "cuestan" - which ranks higher?
"cuestan" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #13,010 in our Spanish list, against #20,634 for "cuelgan". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "cuelgan" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "cuestan" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #195,698 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "cuelgan" and "cuestan" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "cuelgan vs cuelguen". 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 #195,698 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