discutanvsdisputarWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#40,258
“discutan” frequency rank
#17,115
“disputar” frequency rank
57373
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature discutan disputar
Definition Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de subjuntivo de discutir. Entrar en conflicto dos intereses u opiniones enfrentadas.

Where the eye mixes discutan and disputar

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence.

8 ch
discutan
8 ch
disputar

Look-alike desk: discutan vs disputar

A purely visual mix-up. discutan ([d̪isˈkut̪ãn]) and disputar ([d̪ispuˈt̪aɾ]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 57373, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

discutan is recorded at frequency rank #40,258, classified as averb, pronounced [d̪isˈkut̪ãn]. disputar is at rank #17,115, tagged as averb, pronounced [d̪ispuˈt̪aɾ].

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 57373, this pair ranks #70,744 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of discutan vs disputar

Shared letters: adistu. Private to "discutan": cn. Private to "disputar": pr.

"discutan" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCVC  ·  "disputar" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • discutanddiscutan · dicsutan · disccutan · disctuan · discuatn · discutann · discutna · discuttan
  • disputarddisputar · dipsutar · dispputar · disptuar · dispuatr · disputarr · disputra · disputtar

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "discutan" and "disputar" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([d̪isˈkut̪ãn] versus [d̪ispuˈt̪aɾ]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "discutan" or "disputar"?
"disputar" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #17,115 in our Spanish list, against #40,258 for "discutan". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "discutan" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "disputar" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #70,744 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "discutan" and "disputar" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "discutan vs discutas". 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 #70,744 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