gustavsgustoConfusable pair

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

Which to use

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

#266
“gusta” frequency rank
#914
“gusto” frequency rank
1180
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature gusta gusto
Definition Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de gustar. Uno de los cinco sentidos por los que los seres vivos perciben su entorno. Es este caso mediante el sabor, a través de las papilas gustativas.

Where the eye mixes gusta and gusto

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

5 ch
gusta
5 ch
gusto

Visual trap between gusta and gusto

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: gusta is [ˈgust̪a] while gusto is [ˈgust̪o]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - a in “gusta” becomes o in “gusto”, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 1180, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

gusta is recorded at frequency rank #266, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈgust̪a]. gusto is at rank #914, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈgust̪o].

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 1180, this pair ranks #322,448 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of gusta vs gusto

Shared letters: gstu. Private to "gusta": a. Private to "gusto": o.

"gusta" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV  ·  "gusto" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • gustaggusta · gsuta · gusat · gussta · gustta · gutsa · ugsta
  • gustoggusto · gsuto · gusot · gussto · gustto · gutso · ugsto

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "gusta" and "gusto" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "gusta" is a verb and "gusto" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Frequency check: "gusta" vs "gusto" - which ranks higher?
"gusta" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #266 in our Spanish list, against #914 for "gusto". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Eye-level mix-up between "gusta" and "gusto" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "gusta" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "gusto" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #322,448 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "gusta" and "gusto" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "gestar vs gusta". 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 #322,448 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