Which to use
“descansan” is a verb and “descanso” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #22,655
- “descansan” frequency rank
- #2,876
- “descanso” frequency rank
- 25531
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | descansan | descanso |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 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 descansan and descanso
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. descansan runs 9 letters (CVCCVCCVC) against descanso's 8 (CVCCVCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: descansan vs descanso
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: descansan is [d̪esˈkãnsãn] while descanso is [d̪esˈkãnso]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 25531, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
descansan is recorded at frequency rank #22,655, classified as averb, pronounced [d̪esˈkãnsãn]. 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 25531, this pair ranks #236,018 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of descansan vs descanso
Shared letters: acdens. Private to "descansan": -. Private to "descanso": o.
"descansan" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCCVC · "descanso" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "descansan" and "descanso" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary Spanish text, does "descansan" or "descanso" show up more?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "descansan" 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 #236,018 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "descansan" and "descanso" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "descansaba vs descansan". 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 #236,018 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.