pesanvsposanWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#17,789
“pesan” frequency rank
#41,551
“posan” frequency rank
59340
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature pesan posan
Definition Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de pesar. Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de posar.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set pesan and posan apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
pesan
5 ch
posan

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. pesan ([ˈpesãn]) and posan ([ˈposãn]) 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 - e in “pesan” becomes o in “posan”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 59340, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

pesan is recorded at frequency rank #17,789, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈpesãn]. posan is at rank #41,551, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈposãn].

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 59340, this pair ranks #62,976 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of pesan vs posan

Shared letters: anps. Private to "pesan": e. Private to "posan": o.

"pesan" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC  ·  "posan" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • pesanepsan · peasn · pesann · pesna · pessan · ppesan · psean
  • posanopsan · poasn · posann · posna · possan · pposan · psoan

Frequency comparison

pesan#17,789
posan#41,551

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "pesan" and "posan" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈpesãn] versus [ˈposãn]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "pesan" or "posan"?
"pesan" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #17,789 in our Spanish list, against #41,551 for "posan". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering pesan vs posan

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “pesan” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list