gastanvsgustaWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#13,919
“gastan” frequency rank
#266
“gusta” frequency rank
14185
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature gastan gusta
Definition Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de gastar o de gastarse. Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de gustar.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set gastan and gusta apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
gastan
5 ch
gusta

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. gastan ([ˈgast̪ãn]) and gusta ([ˈgust̪a]) 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 14185, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

gastan is recorded at frequency rank #13,919, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈgast̪ãn]. gusta is at rank #266, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈgust̪a].

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 14185, this pair ranks #285,102 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of gastan vs gusta

Shared letters: agst. Private to "gastan": n. Private to "gusta": u.

"gastan" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC  ·  "gusta" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • gastanagstan · gasatn · gasstan · gastann · gastna · gasttan · gatsan · ggastan
  • gustaggusta · gsuta · gusat · gussta · gustta · gutsa · ugsta

Frequency comparison

gastan#13,919
gusta#266

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "gastan" and "gusta" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈgast̪ãn] versus [ˈgust̪a]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "gastan" or "gusta"?
"gusta" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #266 in our Spanish list, against #13,919 for "gastan". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering gastan vs gusta

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 “gastan” 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