molestanvsmolestarTell them apart

Which to use

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

#12,650
“molestan” frequency rank
#7,759
“molestar” frequency rank
20409
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature molestan molestar
Definition Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de molestar. Causar molestias o incomodidades de alguna clase.

Where the eye mixes molestan and molestar

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence.

8 ch
molestan
8 ch
molestar

Look-alike desk: molestan vs molestar

A purely visual mix-up. molestan ([moˈlest̪ãn]) and molestar ([molesˈt̪aɾ]) 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 - n in “molestan” becomes r in “molestar”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 20409, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

molestan is recorded at frequency rank #12,650, classified as averb, pronounced [moˈlest̪ãn]. molestar is at rank #7,759, tagged as averb, pronounced [molesˈt̪aɾ].

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 20409, this pair ranks #259,461 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of molestan vs molestar

Shared letters: aelmost. Private to "molestan": n. Private to "molestar": r.

"molestan" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVC  ·  "molestar" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • molestanmloestan · mmolestan · moelstan · molesatn · molesstan · molestann · molestna · molesttan
  • molestarmloestar · mmolestar · moelstar · molesatr · molesstar · molestarr · molestra · molesttar

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "molestan" and "molestar" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([moˈlest̪ãn] versus [molesˈt̪aɾ]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "molestan" vs "molestar" - which ranks higher?
"molestar" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #7,759 in our Spanish list, against #12,650 for "molestan". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "molestan" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "molestar" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #259,461 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "molestan" and "molestar" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "molestan vs molestaron". 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 #259,461 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