Which to use
“sustenta” is a verb and “sustentada” is a participle - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #20,843
- “sustenta” frequency rank
- #38,982
- “sustentada” frequency rank
- 59825
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | sustenta | sustentada |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de sustentar. | Forma del femenino de sustentado, participio de sustentar. |
Where the eye mixes sustenta and sustentada
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. sustenta runs 8 letters (CVCCVCCV) against sustentada's 10 (CVCCVCCVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: sustenta vs sustentada
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: sustenta is [susˈt̪ẽn̪t̪a] while sustentada is [sust̪ẽn̪ˈt̪að̞a]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “sustenta” sits inside “sustentada”, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs participle), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 59825, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
sustenta is recorded at frequency rank #20,843, classified as averb, pronounced [susˈt̪ẽn̪t̪a]. sustentada is at rank #38,982, tagged as aparticiple, pronounced [sust̪ẽn̪ˈt̪að̞a].
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 59825, this pair ranks #61,207 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of sustenta vs sustentada
Shared letters: aenstu. Private to "sustenta": -. Private to "sustentada": d.
"sustenta" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCCV · "sustentada" · 10 letters · shape CVCCVCCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- sustenta ← ssustenta · ssutenta · susetnta · susstenta · sustenat · sustennta · sustentta · sustetna
- sustentada ← ssustentada · ssutentada · susetntada · susstentada · sustenatda · sustenntada · sustentaad · sustentadda
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "sustenta" for "sustentada" ever safe?
Which is more common, "sustenta" or "sustentada"?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "sustenta" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "sustentada" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #61,207 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "sustenta" and "sustentada" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "sustentada vs sustentado". 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 #61,207 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.