sostenidovssostenidosConfusable pair

Quick tell: sostenido is a adjective, sostenidos is a participle, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“sostenido” is an adjective and “sostenidos” is a participle - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#10,935
“sostenido” frequency rank
#29,406
“sostenidos” frequency rank
40341
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature sostenido sostenidos
Definition Apoyado con el favor de otro. Forma del plural de sostenido, participio de sostener o de sostenerse.

Where the eye mixes sostenido and sostenidos

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 9 letters in sequence. sostenido runs 9 letters (CVCCVCVCV) against sostenidos's 10 (CVCCVCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

9 ch
sostenido
10 ch
sostenidos

Why the eye confuses sostenido with sostenidos

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: sostenido is [sost̪eˈnið̞o] while sostenidos is [sost̪eˈnið̞os]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “sostenido” sits inside “sostenidos”, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs participle), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 40341, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

sostenido is recorded at frequency rank #10,935, classified as anadj, pronounced [sost̪eˈnið̞o]. sostenidos is at rank #29,406, tagged as aparticiple, pronounced [sost̪eˈnið̞os].

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 40341, this pair ranks #159,626 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of sostenido vs sostenidos

Shared letters: deinost. Private to "sostenido": -. Private to "sostenidos": -.

"sostenido" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCVCV  ·  "sostenidos" · 10 letters · shape CVCCVCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • sostenido ← osstenido · sosetnido · sosstenido · sosteindo · sostendio · sosteniddo · sosteniod · sostennido
  • sostenidos ← osstenidos · sosetnidos · sosstenidos · sosteindos · sostendios · sosteniddos · sostenidoss · sostenidso

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "sostenido" and "sostenidos" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "sostenido" is an adjective and "sostenidos" a participle, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Frequency check: "sostenido" vs "sostenidos" - which ranks higher?
"sostenido" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #10,935 in our Spanish list, against #29,406 for "sostenidos". 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 "sostenido" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "sostenidos" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #159,626 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "sostenido" and "sostenidos" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "sostenidas vs sostenidos". 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 #159,626 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