Which to use
“estaño” is a noun and “estén” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #25,629
- “estaño” frequency rank
- #1,448
- “estén” frequency rank
- 27077
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | estaño | estén |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Elemento químico metálico, cuyo número atómico es el 50 y que está situado en el grupo 14 de la tabla periódica de los elementos, con el símbolo Sn. | Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de subjuntivo de estar o de estarse. |
Where the eye mixes estaño and estén
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. estaño runs 6 letters (VCCVCV) against estén's 5 (VCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between estaño and estén
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: estaño is [esˈt̪aɲo] while estén is [esˈt̪ẽn]. 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 (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 27077, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
estaño is recorded at frequency rank #25,629, classified as anoun, pronounced [esˈt̪aɲo]. estén is at rank #1,448, tagged as averb, pronounced [esˈt̪ẽn].
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 27077, this pair ranks #228,554 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of estaño vs estén
Shared letters: est. Private to "estaño": aoñ. Private to "estén": né.
"estaño" · 6 letters · shape VCCVCV · "estén" · 5 letters · shape VCCVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "estaño" for "estén" ever safe?
Which is more common, "estaño" or "estén"?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "estaño" and "estén" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "estaño" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "estén" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #228,554 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "estaño" and "estén" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "estanca vs estaño". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #228,554 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.