stavssusWhich spelling fits?

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

Which to use

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

#14,015
“sta” frequency rank
#32
“sus” frequency rank
14047
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature sta sus
Definition Forma del femenino de sto: «esta». Se emplea para avivar, infundir ánimo e incitar a la acción rápida y con vigor.

Where the eye mixes sta and sus

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence.

3 ch
sta
3 ch
sus

Why the eye confuses sta with sus

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: sta is /ˈsta/ while sus is [sus]. 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 (adjective vs intj), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 14047, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

sta is recorded at frequency rank #14,015, classified as anadj, pronounced /ˈsta/. sus is at rank #32, tagged as anintj, pronounced [sus].

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 14047, this pair ranks #285,601 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of sta vs sus

Shared letters: s. Private to "sta": at. Private to "sus": u.

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

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "sta" and "sus" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "sta" is an adjective and "sus" an intj, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Frequency check: "sta" vs "sus" - which ranks higher?
"sus" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #32 in our Spanish list, against #14,015 for "sta". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

After this comparison

Eye-level mix-up between "sta" and "sus" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "sta" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "sus" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #285,601 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "sta" and "sus" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "sta vs stem". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #285,601 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