cuestiónvscuestionarWhich spelling fits?

Quick tell: cuestión is a noun, cuestionar is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“cuestión” is a noun and “cuestionar” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#962
“cuestión” frequency rank
#10,476
“cuestionar” frequency rank
11438
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature cuestión cuestionar
Definition Pregunta que se hace o propone para averiguar la verdad de algo controvirtiéndolo. Poner en duda algo, especialmente una idea, una creencia o la declaración de alguien.

Where the eye mixes cuestión and cuestionar

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. cuestión runs 8 letters (CVVCCVVC) against cuestionar's 10 (CVVCCVVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

8 ch
cuestión
10 ch
cuestionar

Why the eye confuses cuestión with cuestionar

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: cuestión is [kwesˈt̪jõn] while cuestionar is [kwest̪joˈnaɾ]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 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 11438, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

cuestión is recorded at frequency rank #962, classified as anoun, pronounced [kwesˈt̪jõn]. cuestionar is at rank #10,476, tagged as averb, pronounced [kwest̪joˈnaɾ].

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 11438, this pair ranks #295,122 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of cuestión vs cuestionar

Shared letters: ceinstu. Private to "cuestión": ó. Private to "cuestionar": aor.

"cuestión" · 8 letters · shape CVVCCVVC  ·  "cuestionar" · 10 letters · shape CVVCCVVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • cuestionarccuestionar · ceustionar · cuesitonar · cuesstionar · cuestinoar · cuestioanr · cuestionarr · cuestionnar

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "cuestión" and "cuestionar" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "cuestión" is a noun and "cuestionar" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Frequency check: "cuestión" vs "cuestionar" - which ranks higher?
"cuestión" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #962 in our Spanish list, against #10,476 for "cuestionar". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

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 "cuestión" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "cuestionar" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #295,122 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "cuestión" and "cuestionar" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "cuestionar vs cuestionaron". 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 #295,122 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