sorteovssosténConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#6,832
“sorteo” frequency rank
#18,689
“sostén” frequency rank
25521
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature sorteo sostén
Definition Hecho o acto de sortear. Acción o efecto de sostener

Where the eye mixes sorteo and sostén

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.

6 ch
sorteo
6 ch
sostén

Look-alike desk: sorteo vs sostén

A purely visual mix-up. sorteo ([soɾˈt̪eo]) 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 25521, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

sorteo is recorded at frequency rank #6,832, classified as anoun, pronounced [soɾˈt̪eo]. 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 25521, this pair ranks #236,064 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of sorteo vs sostén

Shared letters: ost. Private to "sorteo": er. Private to "sostén": .

"sorteo" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVV  ·  "sostén" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • sorteoosrteo · soreto · sorrteo · sortoe · sortteo · sotreo · sroteo · ssorteo

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "sorteo" and "sostén" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([soɾˈt̪eo] versus [sosˈt̪ẽn]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "sorteo" vs "sostén" - which ranks higher?
"sorteo" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #6,832 in our Spanish list, against #18,689 for "sostén". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "sorteo" 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 #236,064 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "sorteo" and "sostén" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "solté vs sostén". 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 #236,064 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