modestiavsmolestiaWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#24,235
“modestia” frequency rank
#7,461
“molestia” frequency rank
31696
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature modestia molestia
Definition Virtud que modera, templa y regula los actos externos, conteniendo al hombre en los límites de su estado, según lo conveniente a él. Incomodidad, fatiga.

Where the eye mixes modestia and molestia

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. modestia and molestia follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCVCCVV). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.

8 ch
modestia
8 ch
molestia

Look-alike desk: modestia vs molestia

A purely visual mix-up. modestia ([moˈð̞est̪ja]) and molestia ([moˈlest̪ja]) 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 a single letter - d in “modestia” becomes l in “molestia”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 31696, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

modestia is recorded at frequency rank #24,235, classified as anoun, pronounced [moˈð̞est̪ja]. molestia is at rank #7,461, tagged as anoun, pronounced [moˈlest̪ja].

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 31696, this pair ranks #205,780 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of modestia vs molestia

Shared letters: aeimost. Private to "modestia": d. Private to "molestia": l.

"modestia" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVV  ·  "molestia" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • modestia ← mdoestia · mmodestia · moddestia · modesita · modesstia · modestai · modesttia · modetsia
  • molestia ← mloestia · mmolestia · moelstia · molesita · molesstia · molestai · molesttia · moletsia

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "modestia" for "molestia" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([moˈð̞est̪ja] versus [moˈlest̪ja]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "modestia" or "molestia"?
"molestia" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #7,461 in our Spanish list, against #24,235 for "modestia". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "modestia" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "molestia" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #205,780 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "modestia" and "molestia" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "modestia vs modestos". 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 #205,780 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