esparcevsestarseTell them apart

Which to use

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

#38,688
“esparce” frequency rank
#38,694
“estarse” frequency rank
77382
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature esparce estarse
Definition Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de esparcir o de esparcirse. Detenerse, tardarse o permanecer en alguna actividad, posición o lugar.

Where the eye mixes esparce and estarse

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.

7 ch
esparce
7 ch
estarse

Visual trap between esparce and estarse

A purely visual mix-up. esparce ([esˈpaɾse]) and estarse ([esˈt̪aɾse]) 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 77382, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

esparce is recorded at frequency rank #38,688, classified as averb, pronounced [esˈpaɾse]. estarse is at rank #38,694, tagged as averb, pronounced [esˈt̪aɾse].

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 77382, this pair ranks #16,102 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of esparce vs estarse

Shared letters: aers. Private to "esparce": cp. Private to "estarse": t.

"esparce" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCCV  ·  "estarse" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • esparceepsarce · esaprce · espacre · esparcce · esparec · esparrce · esparse · espparce
  • estarseesatrse · esstarse · estarce · estares · estarrse · estarsse · estasre · estrase

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "esparce" and "estarse" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([esˈpaɾse] versus [esˈt̪aɾse]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "esparce" vs "estarse" - which ranks higher?
"esparce" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #38,688 in our Spanish list, against #38,694 for "estarse". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "esparce" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "estarse" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #16,102 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "esparce" and "estarse" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "esparce vs esparció". 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 #16,102 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