perdistevspersistenWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#9,172
“perdiste” frequency rank
#25,399
“persisten” frequency rank
34571
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature perdiste persisten
Definition Segunda persona del singular (tú, vos) del pretérito perfecto simple de indicativo de perder o de perderse. Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de persistir.

Where the eye mixes perdiste and persisten

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. perdiste runs 8 letters (CVCCVCCV) against persisten's 9 (CVCCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

8 ch
perdiste
9 ch
persisten

Why the eye confuses perdiste with persisten

A purely visual mix-up. perdiste ([peɾˈð̞ist̪e]) and persisten ([peɾˈsist̪ẽn]) 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 34571, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

perdiste is recorded at frequency rank #9,172, classified as averb, pronounced [peɾˈð̞ist̪e]. persisten is at rank #25,399, tagged as averb, pronounced [peɾˈsist̪ẽn].

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 34571, this pair ranks #190,699 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of perdiste vs persisten

Shared letters: eiprst. Private to "perdiste": d. Private to "persisten": n.

"perdiste" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCCV  ·  "persisten" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • perdiste ← eprdiste · pedriste · perddiste · perdiset · perdisste · perdistte · perditse · perdsite
  • persisten ← eprsisten · percisten · perissten · perrsisten · persisetn · persissten · persistenn · persistne

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "perdiste" and "persisten" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([peɾˈð̞ist̪e] versus [peɾˈsist̪ẽn]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "perdiste" vs "persisten" - which ranks higher?
"perdiste" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #9,172 in our Spanish list, against #25,399 for "persisten". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "perdiste" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "persisten" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #190,699 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "perdiste" and "persisten" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "persisten vs persistir". 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 #190,699 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