permitenvspersistenConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#2,739
“permiten” frequency rank
#25,399
“persisten” frequency rank
28138
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature permiten persisten
Definition Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de permitir o de permitirse. Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de persistir.

Where the eye mixes permiten and persisten

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

8 ch
permiten
9 ch
persisten

Look-alike desk: permiten vs persisten

A purely visual mix-up. permiten ([peɾˈmit̪ẽn]) 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 28138, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

permiten is recorded at frequency rank #2,739, classified as averb, pronounced [peɾˈmit̪ẽn]. 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 28138, this pair ranks #223,441 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of permiten vs persisten

Shared letters: einprt. Private to "permiten": m. Private to "persisten": s.

"permiten" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCVC  ·  "persisten" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • permiten ← eprmiten · pemriten · perimten · permietn · permitenn · permitne · permitten · permmiten
  • persisten ← eprsisten · percisten · perissten · perrsisten · persisetn · persissten · persistenn · persistne

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "permiten" and "persisten" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([peɾˈmit̪ẽn] versus [peɾˈsist̪ẽn]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "permiten" or "persisten"?
"permiten" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,739 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

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "permiten" 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 #223,441 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "permiten" 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 #223,441 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