secavsstaConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#5,432
“seca” frequency rank
#14,015
“sta” frequency rank
19447
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature seca sta
Definition Forma del femenino singular de seco. Forma del femenino de sto: «esta».

Where the eye mixes seca and sta

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.

4 ch
seca
3 ch
sta

Visual trap between seca and sta

A purely visual mix-up. seca ([ˈseka]) and sta (/ˈsta/) 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 19447, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

seca is recorded at frequency rank #5,432, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈseka]. sta is at rank #14,015, tagged as anadj, pronounced /ˈsta/.

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 19447, this pair ranks #263,708 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of seca vs sta

Shared letters: as. Private to "seca": ce. Private to "sta": t.

"seca" · 4 letters · shape CVCV  ·  "sta" · 3 letters · shape CCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • secaceca · esca · scea · seac · secca · sseca

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "seca" and "sta" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ˈseka] versus /ˈsta/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary Spanish text, does "seca" or "sta" show up more?
"seca" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #5,432 in our Spanish list, against #14,015 for "sta". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "seca" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "sta" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #263,708 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "seca" and "sta" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "sta vs stem". 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 #263,708 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