sepavsstaWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: sepa is a verb, sta is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“sepa” is a verb and “sta” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#2,319
“sepa” frequency rank
#14,015
“sta” frequency rank
16334
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature sepa sta
Definition Primera persona del singular (yo) del presente de subjuntivo de saber. Forma del femenino de sto: «esta».

Where the eye mixes sepa and sta

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

4 ch
sepa
3 ch
sta

Why the eye confuses sepa with sta

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: sepa is [ˈsepa] while sta is /ˈsta/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 16334, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

sepa is recorded at frequency rank #2,319, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈsepa]. 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 16334, this pair ranks #276,588 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of sepa vs sta

Shared letters: as. Private to "sepa": ep. Private to "sta": t.

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

Known mistypes of this pair

  • sepaespa · seap · seppa · spea · ssepa

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "sepa" for "sta" ever safe?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "sepa" is a verb and "sta" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
In ordinary Spanish text, does "sepa" or "sta" show up more?
"sepa" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,319 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 "sepa" 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 #276,588 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "sepa" 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 #276,588 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