Which to use
“preguntar” and “pregunté” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #2,575
- “preguntar” frequency rank
- #5,425
- “pregunté” frequency rank
- 8000
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | preguntar | pregunté |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Requerir información, formular preguntas. | Primera persona del singular (yo) del pretérito perfecto simple de indicativo de preguntar. |
Where the eye mixes preguntar and pregunté
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. preguntar runs 9 letters (CCVCVCCVC) against pregunté's 8 (CCVCVCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between preguntar and pregunté
A purely visual mix-up. preguntar ([pɾeɣ̞ũn̪ˈt̪aɾ]) and pregunté ([pɾeɣ̞ũn̪ˈt̪e]) 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 8000, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
preguntar is recorded at frequency rank #2,575, classified as averb, pronounced [pɾeɣ̞ũn̪ˈt̪aɾ]. pregunté is at rank #5,425, tagged as averb, pronounced [pɾeɣ̞ũn̪ˈt̪e].
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 8000, this pair ranks #306,288 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of preguntar vs pregunté
Shared letters: egnprtu. Private to "preguntar": a. Private to "pregunté": é.
"preguntar" · 9 letters · shape CCVCVCCVC · "pregunté" · 8 letters · shape CCVCVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- preguntar ← perguntar · ppreguntar · pregguntar · pregnutar · pregunatr · pregunntar · preguntarr · preguntra
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "preguntar" and "pregunté" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "preguntar" vs "pregunté" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "preguntar" and "pregunté" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "preguntar" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "pregunté" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #306,288 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "preguntar" and "pregunté" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "preguntar 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 #306,288 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.