pisanvspistasWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: pisan is a verb, pistas is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“pisan” is a verb and “pistas” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#35,687
“pisan” frequency rank
#5,421
“pistas” frequency rank
41108
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

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

Where the spellings diverge

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

5 ch
pisan
6 ch
pistas

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: pisan is [ˈpisãn] while pistas is [ˈpist̪as]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 41108, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

pisan is recorded at frequency rank #35,687, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈpisãn]. pistas is at rank #5,421, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈpist̪as].

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 41108, this pair ranks #155,480 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of pisan vs pistas

Shared letters: aips. Private to "pisan": n. Private to "pistas": t.

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

Known mistypes of this pair

  • pisanipsan · piasn · pisann · pisna · pissan · ppisan · psian
  • pistasipstas · pisats · pisstas · pistass · pistsa · pisttas · pitsas · ppistas

Frequency comparison

pisan#35,687
pistas#5,421

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "pisan" and "pistas" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "pisan" is a verb and "pistas" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "pisan" or "pistas"?
"pistas" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #5,421 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 pisan vs pistas

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “pisan”; for a noun, it's “pistas”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “pisan” 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