Which to use
“descansa” is a verb and “descanso” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #7,844
- “descansa” frequency rank
- #2,876
- “descanso” frequency rank
- 10720
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | descansa | descanso |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de descansar. | Momento, circunstancia o estado en que se deja de trabajar o de sentir cansancio, fatiga o tensión. |
Where the eye mixes descansa and descanso
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. descansa and descanso follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCCVCCV). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Look-alike desk: descansa vs descanso
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: descansa is [d̪esˈkãnsa] while descanso is [d̪esˈkãnso]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - a in “descansa” becomes o in “descanso”, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 10720, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
descansa is recorded at frequency rank #7,844, classified as averb, pronounced [d̪esˈkãnsa]. descanso is at rank #2,876, tagged as anoun, pronounced [d̪esˈkãnso].
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 10720, this pair ranks #297,607 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of descansa vs descanso
Shared letters: acdens. Private to "descansa": -. Private to "descanso": o.
"descansa" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCCV · "descanso" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "descansa" for "descanso" ever safe?
In ordinary Spanish text, does "descansa" or "descanso" show up more?
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 "descansa" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "descanso" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #297,607 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "descansa" and "descanso" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "descansa vs descansaba". 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 #297,607 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.