Which to use
“pregunta” is a noun and “preguntan” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #491
- “pregunta” frequency rank
- #4,640
- “preguntan” frequency rank
- 5131
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | pregunta | preguntan |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Locución o enunciación que solicita del interlocutor alguna información a modo de respuesta | Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de preguntar o de preguntarse. |
Where the eye mixes pregunta and preguntan
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. pregunta runs 8 letters (CCVCVCCV) against preguntan's 9 (CCVCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: pregunta vs preguntan
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: pregunta is [pɾeˈɣ̞ũn̪t̪a] while preguntan is [pɾeˈɣ̞ũn̪t̪ãn]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “pregunta” sits inside “preguntan”, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 5131, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
pregunta is recorded at frequency rank #491, classified as anoun, pronounced [pɾeˈɣ̞ũn̪t̪a]. preguntan is at rank #4,640, tagged as averb, pronounced [pɾeˈɣ̞ũn̪t̪ãn].
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 5131, this pair ranks #314,418 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of pregunta vs preguntan
Shared letters: aegnprtu. Private to "pregunta": -. Private to "preguntan": -.
"pregunta" · 8 letters · shape CCVCVCCV · "preguntan" · 9 letters · shape CCVCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "pregunta" and "preguntan" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary Spanish text, does "pregunta" or "preguntan" show up more?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "pregunta" and "preguntan" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "pregunta" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "preguntan" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #314,418 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "pregunta" and "preguntan" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "preguntan vs preguntarán". 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 #314,418 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.