pintanvspisanWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#16,672
“pintan” frequency rank
#35,687
“pisan” frequency rank
52359
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature pintan pisan
Definition Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de pintar. Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de pisar.

Where the spellings diverge

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

6 ch
pintan
5 ch
pisan

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. pintan ([ˈpĩn̪t̪ãn]) and pisan ([ˈpisãn]) 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 52359, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

pintan is recorded at frequency rank #16,672, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈpĩn̪t̪ãn]. pisan is at rank #35,687, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈpisãn].

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 52359, this pair ranks #93,091 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of pintan vs pisan

Shared letters: ainp. Private to "pintan": t. Private to "pisan": s.

"pintan" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC  ·  "pisan" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • pintanipntan · pinatn · pinntan · pintann · pintna · pinttan · pitnan · pnitan
  • pisanipsan · piasn · pisann · pisna · pissan · ppisan · psian

Frequency comparison

pintan#16,672
pisan#35,687

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "pintan" and "pisan" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈpĩn̪t̪ãn] versus [ˈpisãn]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "pintan" or "pisan"?
"pintan" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #16,672 in our Spanish list, against #35,687 for "pisan". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering pintan vs pisan

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 “pintan” 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