descansadovsdescansarTell them apart

Which to use

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

#34,543
“descansado” frequency rank
#4,779
“descansar” frequency rank
39322
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature descansado descansar
Definition Participio de descansar. Interrumpir el trabajo, dejar de trabajar.

Where the eye mixes descansado and descansar

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. descansado runs 10 letters (CVCCVCCVCV) against descansar's 9 (CVCCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

10 ch
descansado
9 ch
descansar

Look-alike desk: descansado vs descansar

A purely visual mix-up. descansado ([d̪eskãnˈsað̞o]) and descansar ([d̪eskãnˈsaɾ]) 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 39322, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

descansado is recorded at frequency rank #34,543, classified as averb, pronounced [d̪eskãnˈsað̞o]. descansar is at rank #4,779, tagged as averb, pronounced [d̪eskãnˈsaɾ].

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 39322, this pair ranks #165,164 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of descansado vs descansar

Shared letters: acdens. Private to "descansado": o. Private to "descansar": r.

"descansado" · 10 letters · shape CVCCVCCVCV  ·  "descansar" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • descansado ← ddescansado · decsansado · desacnsado · descanasdo · descannsado · descansaddo · descansaod · descansdao
  • descansar ← ddescansar · decsansar · desacnsar · descanasr · descannsar · descansarr · descansra · descanssar

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "descansado" for "descansar" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([d̪eskãnˈsað̞o] versus [d̪eskãnˈsaɾ]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "descansado" or "descansar"?
"descansar" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #4,779 in our Spanish list, against #34,543 for "descansado". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Eye-level mix-up between "descansado" and "descansar" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "descansado" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "descansar" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #165,164 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "descansado" and "descansar" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "descansaba vs descansado". 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 #165,164 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