molestavsmolestenTell them apart

Which to use

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

#2,459
“molesta” frequency rank
#26,151
“molesten” frequency rank
28610
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature molesta molesten
Definition Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de molestar. Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de subjuntivo de molestar.

Where the eye mixes molesta and molesten

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. molesta runs 7 letters (CVCVCCV) against molesten's 8 (CVCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

7 ch
molesta
8 ch
molesten

Look-alike desk: molesta vs molesten

A purely visual mix-up. molesta ([moˈlest̪a]) and molesten ([moˈlest̪ẽn]) 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 28610, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

molesta is recorded at frequency rank #2,459, classified as averb, pronounced [moˈlest̪a]. molesten is at rank #26,151, tagged as averb, pronounced [moˈlest̪ẽn].

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 28610, this pair ranks #221,163 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of molesta vs molesten

Shared letters: elmost. Private to "molesta": a. Private to "molesten": n.

"molesta" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCCV  ·  "molesten" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • molesta ← mloesta · mmolesta · moelsta · molesat · molessta · molestta · moletsa · mollesta
  • molesten ← mloesten · mmolesten · moelsten · molesetn · molessten · molestenn · molestne · molestten

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "molesta" for "molesten" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([moˈlest̪a] versus [moˈlest̪ẽn]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "molesta" or "molesten"?
"molesta" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,459 in our Spanish list, against #26,151 for "molesten". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

What to do next

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "molesta" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "molesten" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #221,163 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "molesta" and "molesten" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Moles vs molesta". 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 #221,163 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