preguntavspreguntoWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

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

#491
“pregunta” frequency rank
#1,745
“pregunto” frequency rank
2236
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature pregunta pregunto
Definition Locución o enunciación que solicita del interlocutor alguna información a modo de respuesta Primera persona del singular (yo) del presente de indicativo de preguntar.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set pregunta and pregunto apart are highlighted. They share 7 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

8 ch
pregunta
8 ch
pregunto

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: pregunta is [pɾeˈɣ̞ũn̪t̪a] while pregunto is [pɾeˈɣ̞ũn̪t̪o]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - a in “pregunta” becomes o in “pregunto”, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 2236, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

pregunta is recorded at frequency rank #491, classified as anoun, pronounced [pɾeˈɣ̞ũn̪t̪a]. pregunto is at rank #1,745, tagged as averb, pronounced [pɾeˈɣ̞ũn̪t̪o].

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 2236, this pair ranks #320,722 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of pregunta vs pregunto

Shared letters: egnprtu. Private to "pregunta": a. Private to "pregunto": o.

"pregunta" · 8 letters · shape CCVCVCCV  ·  "pregunto" · 8 letters · shape CCVCVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • preguntapergunta · ppregunta · preggunta · pregnuta · pregunat · pregunnta · preguntta · pregutna
  • preguntopergunto · ppregunto · preggunto · pregnuto · pregunnto · pregunot · preguntto · pregutno

Frequency comparison

pregunta#491
pregunto#1,745

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "pregunta" and "pregunto" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "pregunta" is a noun and "pregunto" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "pregunta" or "pregunto"?
"pregunta" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #491 in our Spanish list, against #1,745 for "pregunto". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering pregunta vs pregunto

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

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