Which to use
“sister” and “sostén” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #36,296
- “sister” frequency rank
- #18,689
- “sostén” frequency rank
- 54985
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | sister | sostén |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Hermana. | Acción o efecto de sostener |
Where the eye mixes sister and sostén
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: sister vs sostén
A purely visual mix-up. sister (/ˈsɪs.tə/) and sostén ([sosˈt̪ẽn]) 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 3 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 54985, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
sister is recorded at frequency rank #36,296, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈsɪs.tə/. sostén is at rank #18,689, tagged as anoun, pronounced [sosˈt̪ẽn].
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 54985, this pair ranks #80,898 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of sister vs sostén
Shared letters: st. Private to "sister": eir. Private to "sostén": noé.
"sister" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "sostén" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- sister ← cister · isster · sisetr · sisster · sisterr · sistre · sistter · sitser
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "sister" and "sostén" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "sister" vs "sostén" - which ranks higher?
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 "sister" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "sostén" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #80,898 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "sister" and "sostén" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "singer vs sister". 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 #80,898 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.