sitvsstaWhich spelling fits?

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

Which to use

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

#39,464
“sit” frequency rank
#14,015
“sta” frequency rank
53479
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature sit sta
Definition Estar sentado. Forma del femenino de sto: «esta».

Where the eye mixes sit and sta

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

3 ch
sit
3 ch
sta

Visual trap between sit and sta

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: sit is /sɪt/ while sta is /ˈsta/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 53479, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

sit is recorded at frequency rank #39,464, classified as averb, pronounced /sɪt/. 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 53479, this pair ranks #87,676 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of sit vs sta

Shared letters: st. Private to "sit": i. Private to "sta": a.

"sit" · 3 letters · shape CVC  ·  "sta" · 3 letters · shape CCV

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "sit" and "sta" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "sit" is a verb and "sta" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
In ordinary Spanish text, does "sit" or "sta" show up more?
"sta" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #14,015 in our Spanish list, against #39,464 for "sit". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "sit" 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 #87,676 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "sit" and "sta" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "sila vs sit". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #87,676 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