Which to use
“refrán” is a noun and “restan” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #19,865
- “refrán” frequency rank
- #27,764
- “restan” frequency rank
- 47629
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | refrán | restan |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Serie de versos que se repiten en un poema o canción. | Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de restar. |
Where the eye mixes refrán and restan
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: refrán vs restan
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: refrán is [reˈfɾãn] while restan is [ˈrest̪ãn]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 3 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 47629, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
refrán is recorded at frequency rank #19,865, classified as anoun, pronounced [reˈfɾãn]. restan is at rank #27,764, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈrest̪ãn].
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 47629, this pair ranks #118,989 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of refrán vs restan
Shared letters: enr. Private to "refrán": fá. Private to "restan": ast.
"refrán" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "restan" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- restan ← erstan · resatn · resstan · restann · restna · resttan · retsan · rrestan
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "refrán" for "restan" ever safe?
Which is more common, "refrán" or "restan"?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "refrán" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "restan" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #118,989 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "refrán" and "restan" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "rasta vs restan". 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 #118,989 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.