virgenvsvistenWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: virgen is a adjective, visten is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

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

#2,323
“virgen” frequency rank
#16,731
“visten” frequency rank
19054
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature virgen visten
Definition Persona que no ha tenido relaciones sexuales, o animal que no se ha apareado Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de vestir.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set virgen and visten apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
virgen
6 ch
visten

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: virgen is [ˈbiɾxẽn] while visten is [ˈbist̪ẽn]. 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 verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 19054, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

virgen is recorded at frequency rank #2,323, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈbiɾxẽn]. visten is at rank #16,731, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈbist̪ẽn].

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 19054, this pair ranks #265,388 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of virgen vs visten

Shared letters: einv. Private to "virgen": gr. Private to "visten": st.

"virgen" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC  ·  "visten" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • virgenbirgen · ivrgen · vigren · viregn · virgenn · virggen · virgne · virrgen
  • vistenbisten · ivsten · visetn · vissten · vistenn · vistne · vistten · vitsen

Frequency comparison

virgen#2,323
visten#16,731

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "virgen" and "visten" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "virgen" is an adjective and "visten" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "virgen" or "visten"?
"virgen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,323 in our Spanish list, against #16,731 for "visten". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering virgen vs visten

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need an adjective, it's “virgen”; for a verb, it's “visten”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “virgen” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list