estadovsestateWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: estado is a noun, estate is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“estado” is a noun and “estate” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#95
“estado” frequency rank
#22,006
“estate” frequency rank
22101
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature estado estate
Definition Situación en que está una persona o una cosa, y en especial cada uno de los sucesivos modos de ser de una persona o cosa sujeta a cambios que influyen en su condición. Segunda persona del singular (tú, vos) del imperativo afirmativo de estarse (con el pronombre «te» enclítico).

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set estado and estate apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
estado
6 ch
estate

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

estado and estate form a confusable pair in the Spanish index, two distinct headwords that are easily confused because they look alike, sound alike, or both. They share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 22101, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

estado is recorded at frequency rank #95, classified as anoun, pronounced [esˈt̪að̞o]. estate is at rank #22,006, tagged as averb, pronounced [esˈt̪at̪e].

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 22101, this pair ranks #251,914 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Frequency comparison

estado#95
estate#22,006

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "estado" and "estate" be used interchangeably?
No, "estado" and "estate" have distinct meanings and cannot be swapped without changing the meaning of a sentence. Understanding the specific definition and context for each word is essential for correct usage.

Remembering estado vs estate

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “estado”; for a verb, it's “estate”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “estado” 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