gastevsgestaConfusable pair

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

Which to use

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

#24,165
“gaste” frequency rank
#21,688
“gesta” frequency rank
45853
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature gaste gesta
Definition Primera persona del singular (yo) del presente de subjuntivo de gastar o de gastarse. Hazaña o conjunto de hechos memorables de una persona, colectividad o pueblo.

Where the eye mixes gaste and gesta

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.

5 ch
gaste
5 ch
gesta

Why the eye confuses gaste with gesta

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: gaste is [ˈgast̪e] while gesta is [ˈxest̪a]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they are an anagram pair: the same letters reordered, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 45853, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

gaste is recorded at frequency rank #24,165, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈgast̪e]. gesta is at rank #21,688, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈxest̪a].

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 45853, this pair ranks #129,083 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of gaste vs gesta

Shared letters: aegst. Private to "gaste": -. Private to "gesta": -.

"gaste" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV  ·  "gesta" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • gasteagste · gaset · gasste · gastte · ggaste · gsate
  • gestaegsta · gesat · gessta · gestta · getsa · ggesta · gseta

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "gaste" and "gesta" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "gaste" is a verb and "gesta" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
In ordinary Spanish text, does "gaste" or "gesta" show up more?
"gesta" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #21,688 in our Spanish list, against #24,165 for "gaste". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "gaste" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "gesta" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #129,083 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "gaste" and "gesta" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "gaste vs Gasteiz". 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 #129,083 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