fuevsfusteWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: fue is a verb, fuste is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“fue” is a verb and “fuste” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#44
“fue” frequency rank
#49,029
“fuste” frequency rank
49073
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature fue fuste
Definition Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del pretérito perfecto simple de indicativo de ir. Parte media de la columna que corre entre el capitel y la basa

Where the spellings diverge

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

3 ch
fue
5 ch
fuste

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: fue is [ˈfwe] while fuste is [ˈfust̪e]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 49073, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

fue is recorded at frequency rank #44, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈfwe]. fuste is at rank #49,029, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈfust̪e].

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 49073, this pair ranks #110,870 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of fue vs fuste

Shared letters: efu. Private to "fue": -. Private to "fuste": st.

"fue" · 3 letters · shape CVV  ·  "fuste" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • fusteffuste · fsute · fuset · fusste · fustte · futse · ufste

Frequency comparison

fue#44
fuste#49,029

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "fue" and "fuste" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "fue" is a verb and "fuste" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "fue" or "fuste"?
"fue" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #44 in our Spanish list, against #49,029 for "fuste". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering fue vs fuste

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “fue”; for a noun, it's “fuste”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “fue” 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