Which to use
“establece” and “estableció” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #2,829
- “establece” frequency rank
- #5,508
- “estableció” frequency rank
- 8337
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | establece | estableció |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de establecer o de establecerse. | Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del pretérito perfecto simple de indicativo de establecer o de establecerse. |
Where the eye mixes establece and estableció
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses establece with estableció
A purely visual mix-up. establece ([est̪aˈβ̞lese]) and estableció ([est̪aβ̞leˈsjo]) 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 8337, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
establece is recorded at frequency rank #2,829, classified as averb, pronounced [est̪aˈβ̞lese]. estableció is at rank #5,508, tagged as averb, pronounced [est̪aβ̞leˈsjo].
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 8337, this pair ranks #305,299 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of establece vs estableció
Shared letters: abcelst. Private to "establece": -. Private to "estableció": ió.
"establece" · 9 letters · shape VCCVCCVCV · "estableció" · 10 letters · shape VCCVCCVCVV
Known mistypes of this pair
- establece ← esatblece · esstablece · estabblece · estabelce · establcee · establecce · estableec · establese
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "establece" for "estableció" ever safe?
Which is more common, "establece" or "estableció"?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "establece" and "estableció" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "establece" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "estableció" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #305,299 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "establece" and "estableció" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "establece vs establecerá". 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 #305,299 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.