esténvsevitenWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#1,448
“estén” frequency rank
#24,863
“eviten” frequency rank
26311
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature estén eviten
Definition Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de subjuntivo de estar o de estarse. Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de subjuntivo de evitar.

Where the spellings diverge

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

5 ch
estén
6 ch
eviten

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. estén ([esˈt̪ẽn]) and eviten ([eˈβ̞it̪ẽn]) 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 26311, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

estén is recorded at frequency rank #1,448, classified as averb, pronounced [esˈt̪ẽn]. eviten is at rank #24,863, tagged as averb, pronounced [eˈβ̞it̪ẽn].

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 26311, this pair ranks #232,229 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of estén vs eviten

Shared letters: ent. Private to "estén": . Private to "eviten": iv.

"estén" · 5 letters · shape VCCVC  ·  "eviten" · 6 letters · shape VCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • evitenebiten · eivten · evietn · evitenn · evitne · evitten · evtien · evviten

Frequency comparison

estén#1,448
eviten#24,863

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "estén" and "eviten" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([esˈt̪ẽn] versus [eˈβ̞it̪ẽn]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "estén" or "eviten"?
"estén" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,448 in our Spanish list, against #24,863 for "eviten". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering estén vs eviten

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “estén” 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