poseavsposseTell them apart

Which to use

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

#26,965
“posea” frequency rank
#42,630
“posse” frequency rank
69595
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature posea posse
Definition Primera persona del singular (yo) del presente de subjuntivo de poseer. Infinitivo presente activo de possum.

Where the eye mixes posea and posse

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.

5 ch
posea
5 ch
posse

Why the eye confuses posea with posse

A purely visual mix-up. posea ([poˈsea]) and posse ([ˈpɔs.sɛ]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 69595, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

posea is recorded at frequency rank #26,965, classified as averb, pronounced [poˈsea]. posse is at rank #42,630, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈpɔs.sɛ].

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 69595, this pair ranks #31,625 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of posea vs posse

Shared letters: eops. Private to "posea": a. Private to "posse": -.

"posea" · 5 letters · shape CVCVV  ·  "posse" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • poseaopsea · pocea · poesa · posae · possea · pposea · psoea
  • posseopsse · posce · poses · pposse · psose

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "posea" for "posse" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([poˈsea] versus [ˈpɔs.sɛ]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "posea" or "posse"?
"posea" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #26,965 in our Spanish list, against #42,630 for "posse". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Eye-level mix-up between "posea" and "posse" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "posea" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "posse" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #31,625 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "posea" and "posse" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "poso vs posse". 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 #31,625 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