tirastevstristeWhich spelling fits?

Quick tell: tiraste is a verb, triste is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“tiraste” is a verb and “triste” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#25,843
“tiraste” frequency rank
#1,259
“triste” frequency rank
27102
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature tiraste triste
Definition Segunda persona del singular (tú, vos) del pretérito perfecto simple de indicativo de tirar. Que siente tristeza.

Where the eye mixes tiraste and triste

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.

7 ch
tiraste
6 ch
triste

Look-alike desk: tiraste vs triste

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: tiraste is [t̪iˈɾast̪e] while triste is [ˈt̪ɾist̪e]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 27102, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

tiraste is recorded at frequency rank #25,843, classified as averb, pronounced [t̪iˈɾast̪e]. triste is at rank #1,259, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈt̪ɾist̪e].

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 27102, this pair ranks #228,442 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of tiraste vs triste

Shared letters: eirst. Private to "tiraste": a. Private to "triste": -.

"tiraste" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCCV  ·  "triste" · 6 letters · shape CCVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • tirasteitraste · tiarste · tiraset · tirasste · tirastte · tiratse · tirraste · tirsate
  • tristertiste · tirste · triset · trisste · tristte · tritse · trriste · trsite

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "tiraste" for "triste" ever safe?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "tiraste" is a verb and "triste" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "tiraste" or "triste"?
"triste" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,259 in our Spanish list, against #25,843 for "tiraste". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Useful next steps

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "tiraste" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "triste" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #228,442 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "tiraste" and "triste" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "tirante vs tiraste". 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 #228,442 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