escasavsescaseaWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: escasa is a adjective, escasea is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“escasa” is an adjective and “escasea” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#7,016
“escasa” frequency rank
#45,304
“escasea” frequency rank
52320
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature escasa escasea
Definition Forma del femenino de escaso. Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de escasear.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set escasa and escasea apart are highlighted. They share 6 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
escasa
7 ch
escasea

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: escasa is [esˈkasa] while escasea is [eskaˈsea]. 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 (adjective vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 52320, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

escasa is recorded at frequency rank #7,016, classified as anadj, pronounced [esˈkasa]. escasea is at rank #45,304, tagged as averb, pronounced [eskaˈsea].

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 52320, this pair ranks #93,280 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of escasa vs escasea

Shared letters: aces. Private to "escasa": -. Private to "escasea": -.

"escasa" · 6 letters · shape VCCVCV  ·  "escasea" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCVV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • escasaecsasa · esacsa · escaas · escassa · esccasa · escsaa · esscasa · secasa
  • escaseaecsasea · esacsea · escacea · escaesa · escasae · escassea · esccasea · escsaea

Frequency comparison

escasa#7,016
escasea#45,304

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "escasa" and "escasea" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "escasa" is an adjective and "escasea" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "escasa" or "escasea"?
"escasa" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #7,016 in our Spanish list, against #45,304 for "escasea". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering escasa vs escasea

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need an adjective, it's “escasa”; for a verb, it's “escasea”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “escasa” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list