gestarvsgustaTell them apart

Which to use

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

#49,676
“gestar” frequency rank
#266
“gusta” frequency rank
49942
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature gestar gusta
Definition Llevar el embrión (y luego feto) en el útero y sustentarlo desde la concepción hasta el parto. Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de gustar.

Where the eye mixes gestar and gusta

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.

6 ch
gestar
5 ch
gusta

Look-alike desk: gestar vs gusta

A purely visual mix-up. gestar ([xesˈt̪aɾ]) 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 49942, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

gestar is recorded at frequency rank #49,676, classified as averb, pronounced [xesˈt̪aɾ]. 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 49942, this pair ranks #105,976 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of gestar vs gusta

Shared letters: agst. Private to "gestar": er. Private to "gusta": u.

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

Known mistypes of this pair

  • gestaregstar · gesatr · gesstar · gestarr · gestra · gesttar · getsar · ggestar
  • gustaggusta · gsuta · gusat · gussta · gustta · gutsa · ugsta

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "gestar" and "gusta" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([xesˈt̪aɾ] versus [ˈgust̪a]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "gestar" or "gusta"?
"gusta" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #266 in our Spanish list, against #49,676 for "gestar". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

After this comparison

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "gestar" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "gusta" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #105,976 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "gestar" and "gusta" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "gestar vs guitar". 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 #105,976 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