existesvsexistirTell them apart

Which to use

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

#34,579
“existes” frequency rank
#3,119
“existir” frequency rank
37698
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature existes existir
Definition Segunda persona del singular (tú) del presente de indicativo de existir. Tener realidad; ser real o verdadero; tener existencia.

Where the eye mixes existes and existir

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.

7 ch
existes
7 ch
existir

Visual trap between existes and existir

A purely visual mix-up. existes ([ekˈsist̪es]) and existir ([eksisˈt̪iɾ]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 37698, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

existes is recorded at frequency rank #34,579, classified as averb, pronounced [ekˈsist̪es]. existir is at rank #3,119, tagged as averb, pronounced [eksisˈt̪iɾ].

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 37698, this pair ranks #173,948 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of existes vs existir

Shared letters: eistx. Private to "existes": -. Private to "existir": r.

"existes" · 7 letters · shape VCVCCVC  ·  "existir" · 7 letters · shape VCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • existeseixstes · exisets · exisstes · existess · existse · existtes · exitses · exsites
  • existireixstir · exisitr · exisstir · existirr · existri · existtir · exitsir · exsitir

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "existes" and "existir" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ekˈsist̪es] versus [eksisˈt̪iɾ]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "existes" or "existir"?
"existir" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,119 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.

What to do next

Eye-level mix-up between "existes" and "existir" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "existes" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "existir" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #173,948 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "existes" and "existir" 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 #173,948 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