Which to use
“discute” and “discuten” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #9,803
- “discute” frequency rank
- #15,594
- “discuten” frequency rank
- 25397
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | discute | discuten |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de discutir. | Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de discutir. |
Where the eye mixes discute and discuten
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. discute runs 7 letters (CVCCVCV) against discuten's 8 (CVCCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between discute and discuten
A purely visual mix-up. discute ([d̪isˈkut̪e]) and discuten ([d̪isˈkut̪ẽn]) 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 extra letter(s) - “discute” sits inside “discuten”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 25397, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
discute is recorded at frequency rank #9,803, classified as averb, pronounced [d̪isˈkut̪e]. discuten is at rank #15,594, tagged as averb, pronounced [d̪isˈkut̪ẽn].
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 25397, this pair ranks #236,617 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of discute vs discuten
Shared letters: cdeistu. Private to "discute": -. Private to "discuten": n.
"discute" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCV · "discuten" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "discute" for "discuten" ever safe?
Which is more common, "discute" or "discuten"?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "discute" and "discuten" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "discute" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "discuten" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #236,617 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "discute" and "discuten" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "discutas vs discuten". 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 #236,617 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.