cuentenvscuesteWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#11,201
“cuenten” frequency rank
#10,647
“cueste” frequency rank
21848
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature cuenten cueste
Definition Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de subjuntivo de contar. Primera persona del singular (yo) del presente de subjuntivo de costar.

Where the eye mixes cuenten and cueste

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. cuenten runs 7 letters (CVVCCVC) against cueste's 6 (CVVCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

7 ch
cuenten
6 ch
cueste

Visual trap between cuenten and cueste

A purely visual mix-up. cuenten ([ˈkwẽn̪t̪ẽn]) 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 differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 21848, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

cuenten is recorded at frequency rank #11,201, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈkwẽn̪t̪ẽn]. 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 21848, this pair ranks #253,070 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of cuenten vs cueste

Shared letters: cetu. Private to "cuenten": n. Private to "cueste": s.

"cuenten" · 7 letters · shape CVVCCVC  ·  "cueste" · 6 letters · shape CVVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • cuenten ← ccuenten · ceunten · cuenetn · cuennten · cuentenn · cuentne · cuentten · cuetnen
  • cueste ← ccueste · ceuste · cueset · cuesste · cuestte · cuetse · cusete · uceste

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "cuenten" and "cueste" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ˈkwẽn̪t̪ẽn] versus [ˈkwest̪e]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "cuenten" or "cueste"?
"cueste" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #10,647 in our Spanish list, against #11,201 for "cuenten". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "cuenten" 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 #253,070 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "cuenten" and "cueste" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "cueste vs cute". 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 #253,070 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