existenvsexistesWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#807
“existen” frequency rank
#34,579
“existes” frequency rank
35386
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature existen existes
Definition Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de existir. Segunda persona del singular (tú) del presente de indicativo de existir.

Where the eye mixes existen and existes

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence.

7 ch
existen
7 ch
existes

Visual trap between existen and existes

A purely visual mix-up. existen ([ekˈsist̪ẽn]) and existes ([ekˈsist̪es]) 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 a single letter - n in “existen” becomes s in “existes”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 35386, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

existen is recorded at frequency rank #807, classified as averb, pronounced [ekˈsist̪ẽn]. existes is at rank #34,579, tagged as averb, pronounced [ekˈsist̪es].

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 35386, this pair ranks #186,381 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of existen vs existes

Shared letters: eistx. Private to "existen": n. Private to "existes": -.

"existen" · 7 letters · shape VCVCCVC  ·  "existes" · 7 letters · shape VCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • existeneixsten · exisetn · exissten · existenn · existne · existten · exitsen · exsiten
  • existeseixstes · exisets · exisstes · existess · existse · existtes · exitses · exsites

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "existen" and "existes" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ekˈsist̪ẽn] versus [ekˈsist̪es]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "existen" vs "existes" - which ranks higher?
"existen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #807 in our Spanish list, against #34,579 for "existes". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Useful next steps

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "existen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "existes" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #186,381 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "existen" and "existes" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "existes vs existiese". 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 #186,381 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