resistenvsrespetenTell them apart

Which to use

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

#20,497
“resisten” frequency rank
#13,784
“respeten” frequency rank
34281
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature resisten respeten
Definition Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de resistir o de resistirse. Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de subjuntivo de respetar.

Where the eye mixes resisten and respeten

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. resisten (CVCVCCVC) and respeten (CVCCVCVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.

8 ch
resisten
8 ch
respeten

Why the eye confuses resisten with respeten

A purely visual mix-up. resisten ([reˈsist̪ẽn]) and respeten ([resˈpet̪ẽn]) 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 34281, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

resisten is recorded at frequency rank #20,497, classified as averb, pronounced [reˈsist̪ẽn]. respeten is at rank #13,784, tagged as averb, pronounced [resˈpet̪ẽn].

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 34281, this pair ranks #192,306 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of resisten vs respeten

Shared letters: enrst. Private to "resisten": i. Private to "respeten": p.

"resisten" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVC  ·  "respeten" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • resistenersisten · recisten · reissten · resisetn · resissten · resistenn · resistne · resistten
  • respetenerspeten · repseten · resepten · respeetn · respetenn · respetne · respetten · resppeten

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "resisten" and "respeten" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([reˈsist̪ẽn] versus [resˈpet̪ẽn]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "resisten" vs "respeten" - which ranks higher?
"respeten" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #13,784 in our Spanish list, against #20,497 for "resisten". 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 "resisten" and "respeten" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "resisten" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "respeten" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #192,306 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "resisten" and "respeten" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "resisten vs reviste". 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 #192,306 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