estvsestadWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

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

#5,957
“est” frequency rank
#31,777
“estad” frequency rank
37734
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature est estad
Definition Este. Segunda persona del plural (vosotros, vosotras) del imperativo afirmativo de estar.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set est and estad apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

3 ch
est
5 ch
estad

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: est is [ɛst] while estad is [esˈt̪að̞]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “est” sits inside “estad”, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 37734, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

est is recorded at frequency rank #5,957, classified as anadj, pronounced [ɛst]. estad is at rank #31,777, tagged as averb, pronounced [esˈt̪að̞].

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 37734, this pair ranks #173,757 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of est vs estad

Shared letters: est. Private to "est": -. Private to "estad": ad.

"est" · 3 letters · shape VCC  ·  "estad" · 5 letters · shape VCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • estadesatd · esstad · estadd · estda · esttad · etsad · setad

Frequency comparison

est#5,957
estad#31,777

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "est" and "estad" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "est" is an adjective and "estad" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "est" or "estad"?
"est" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #5,957 in our Spanish list, against #31,777 for "estad". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering est vs estad

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need an adjective, it's “est”; for a verb, it's “estad”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “est” 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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list