gastevsgustenConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#24,165
“gaste” frequency rank
#12,392
“gusten” frequency rank
36557
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature gaste gusten
Definition Primera persona del singular (yo) del presente de subjuntivo de gastar o de gastarse. Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de subjuntivo de gustar.

Where the eye mixes gaste and gusten

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. gaste runs 5 letters (CVCCV) against gusten's 6 (CVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

5 ch
gaste
6 ch
gusten

Visual trap between gaste and gusten

A purely visual mix-up. gaste ([ˈgast̪e]) and gusten ([ˈgust̪ẽn]) 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 36557, 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]. gusten is at rank #12,392, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈgust̪ẽn].

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 36557, this pair ranks #180,007 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of gaste vs gusten

Shared letters: egst. Private to "gaste": a. Private to "gusten": nu.

"gaste" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV  ·  "gusten" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • gaste ← agste · gaset · gasste · gastte · ggaste · gsate
  • gusten ← ggusten · gsuten · gusetn · gussten · gustenn · gustne · gustten · gutsen

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "gaste" and "gusten" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈgast̪e] versus [ˈgust̪ẽn]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "gaste" vs "gusten" - which ranks higher?
"gusten" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #12,392 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 "gusten" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #180,007 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "gaste" and "gusten" 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 #180,007 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