Which to use
“cuentan” and “cuentes” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #2,492
- “cuentan” frequency rank
- #15,334
- “cuentes” frequency rank
- 17826
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | cuentan | cuentes |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de contar. | Segunda persona del singular (tú) del presente de subjuntivo de contar. |
Where the eye mixes cuentan and cuentes
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. cuentan and cuentes follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVVCCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Why the eye confuses cuentan with cuentes
A purely visual mix-up. cuentan ([ˈkwẽn̪t̪ãn]) and cuentes ([ˈkwẽn̪t̪es]) 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 17826, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
cuentan is recorded at frequency rank #2,492, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈkwẽn̪t̪ãn]. cuentes is at rank #15,334, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈkwẽn̪t̪es].
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 17826, this pair ranks #270,538 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of cuentan vs cuentes
Shared letters: centu. Private to "cuentan": a. Private to "cuentes": s.
"cuentan" · 7 letters · shape CVVCCVC · "cuentes" · 7 letters · shape CVVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "cuentan" for "cuentes" ever safe?
Frequency check: "cuentan" vs "cuentes" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "cuentan" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "cuentes" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #270,538 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "cuentan" and "cuentes" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "cantes vs cuentes". 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 #270,538 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.