molestanvsmolestenWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#12,650
“molestan” frequency rank
#26,151
“molesten” frequency rank
38801
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature molestan molesten
Definition Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 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 molestan and molesten

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

8 ch
molestan
8 ch
molesten

Look-alike desk: molestan vs molesten

A purely visual mix-up. molestan ([moˈlest̪ãn]) 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 a single letter - a in “molestan” becomes e in “molesten”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 38801, 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]. 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 38801, this pair ranks #167,998 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of molestan vs molesten

Shared letters: elmnost. Private to "molestan": a. Private to "molesten": -.

"molestan" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVC  ·  "molesten" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • molestan ← mloestan · mmolestan · moelstan · molesatn · molesstan · molestann · molestna · molesttan
  • molesten ← mloesten · mmolesten · moelsten · molesetn · molessten · molestenn · molestne · molestten

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "molestan" for "molesten" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([moˈlest̪ãn] versus [moˈlest̪ẽn]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary Spanish text, does "molestan" or "molesten" show up more?
"molestan" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #12,650 in our Spanish list, against #26,151 for "molesten". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

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 "molesten" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #167,998 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "molestan" and "molesten" 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 #167,998 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