estarsevsestásTell them apart

Which to use

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

#38,694
“estarse” frequency rank
#401
“estás” frequency rank
39095
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature estarse estás
Definition Detenerse, tardarse o permanecer en alguna actividad, posición o lugar. Segunda persona del singular (tú, vos) del presente de indicativo de estar o de estarse.

Where the eye mixes estarse and estás

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. estarse runs 7 letters (VCCVCCV) against estás's 5 (VCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

7 ch
estarse
5 ch
estás

Why the eye confuses estarse with estás

A purely visual mix-up. estarse ([esˈt̪aɾse]) and estás ([esˈt̪as]) 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 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 39095, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

estarse is recorded at frequency rank #38,694, classified as averb, pronounced [esˈt̪aɾse]. estás is at rank #401, tagged as averb, pronounced [esˈt̪as].

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 39095, this pair ranks #166,418 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of estarse vs estás

Shared letters: est. Private to "estarse": ar. Private to "estás": á.

"estarse" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCCV  ·  "estás" · 5 letters · shape VCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • estarse ← esatrse · esstarse · estarce · estares · estarrse · estarsse · estasre · estrase

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "estarse" for "estás" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([esˈt̪aɾse] versus [esˈt̪as]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "estarse" or "estás"?
"estás" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #401 in our Spanish list, against #38,694 for "estarse". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

What to do next

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "estarse" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "estás" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #166,418 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "estarse" and "estás" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "esparce vs estarse". 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 #166,418 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