distingovsdistingueTell them apart

Which to use

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

#41,309
“distingo” frequency rank
#9,804
“distingue” frequency rank
51113
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature distingo distingue
Definition Primera persona del singular (yo) del presente de indicativo de distinguir o de distinguirse. Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de distinguir o de distinguirse.

Where the eye mixes distingo and distingue

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence.

8 ch
distingo
9 ch
distingue

Look-alike desk: distingo vs distingue

A purely visual mix-up. distingo ([d̪isˈt̪ĩŋgo]) and distingue ([d̪isˈt̪ĩŋge]) 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 51113, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

distingo is recorded at frequency rank #41,309, classified as averb, pronounced [d̪isˈt̪ĩŋgo]. distingue is at rank #9,804, tagged as averb, pronounced [d̪isˈt̪ĩŋge].

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 51113, this pair ranks #99,622 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of distingo vs distingue

Shared letters: dginst. Private to "distingo": o. Private to "distingue": eu.

"distingo" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCCV  ·  "distingue" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCCVV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • distingoddistingo · disitngo · disstingo · distigno · distinggo · distinngo · distinog · distnigo
  • distingueddistingue · disitngue · disstingue · distignue · distingeu · distinggue · distinngue · distinuge

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "distingo" and "distingue" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([d̪isˈt̪ĩŋgo] versus [d̪isˈt̪ĩŋge]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "distingo" or "distingue"?
"distingue" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #9,804 in our Spanish list, against #41,309 for "distingo". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "distingo" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "distingue" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #99,622 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "distingo" and "distingue" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "dispongo vs distingo". 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 #99,622 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