Which to use
“triste” and “tristes” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #1,259
- “triste” frequency rank
- #7,237
- “tristes” frequency rank
- 8496
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | triste | tristes |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Que siente tristeza. | Forma del plural de triste. |
Where the eye mixes triste and tristes
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. triste runs 6 letters (CCVCCV) against tristes's 7 (CCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses triste with tristes
A purely visual mix-up. triste ([ˈt̪ɾist̪e]) and tristes ([ˈt̪ɾist̪es]) 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) - “triste” sits inside “tristes”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 8496, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
triste is recorded at frequency rank #1,259, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈt̪ɾist̪e]. tristes is at rank #7,237, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈt̪ɾist̪es].
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 8496, this pair ranks #304,821 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of triste vs tristes
Shared letters: eirst. Private to "triste": -. Private to "tristes": -.
"triste" · 6 letters · shape CCVCCV · "tristes" · 7 letters · shape CCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "triste" and "tristes" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "triste" vs "tristes" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "triste" and "tristes" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "triste" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "tristes" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #304,821 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "triste" and "tristes" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "trastos vs tristes". 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 #304,821 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.