Which to use
“subsiste” and “subsisten” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #37,871
- “subsiste” frequency rank
- #42,160
- “subsisten” frequency rank
- 80031
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | subsiste | subsisten |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de subsistir. | Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de subsistir. |
Where the eye mixes subsiste and subsisten
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. subsiste runs 8 letters (CVCCVCCV) against subsisten's 9 (CVCCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: subsiste vs subsisten
A purely visual mix-up. subsiste ([suβ̞ˈsist̪e]) and subsisten ([suβ̞ˈsist̪ẽn]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “subsiste” sits inside “subsisten”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 80031, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
subsiste is recorded at frequency rank #37,871, classified as averb, pronounced [suβ̞ˈsist̪e]. subsisten is at rank #42,160, tagged as averb, pronounced [suβ̞ˈsist̪ẽn].
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 80031, this pair ranks #12,198 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of subsiste vs subsisten
Shared letters: beistu. Private to "subsiste": -. Private to "subsisten": n.
"subsiste" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCCV · "subsisten" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "subsiste" and "subsisten" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary Spanish text, does "subsiste" or "subsisten" show up more?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "subsiste" and "subsisten" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "subsiste" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "subsisten" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #12,198 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "subsiste" and "subsisten" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "subsistema vs subsisten". 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 #12,198 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.